He's Gone
by Nefhiriel
Summary: Aragorn and Legolas caught by orcs: dejá vù, right? Torture and eventual escape? If only things could be that simple... What started out as a nightmare of a trip, turns into a catastrophe – and they would give anything to be able to go back and change the
1. Default Chapter

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**He's Gone**

By Nefhiriel & Imbecamiel

**Rating:** PG-13

**Genres: **Action/Adventure/Angst

**Disclaimer: **Neither of us owns either Middle-earth or it's characters. Everything belongs to Tolkien, with the exception of Glamdil (if, for some bazaar reason, you'd like to use him, please ask first ; ).

**Summery: **Aragorn and Legolas caught by orcs: dejá vù, right? Torture and eventual escape? If only things could be that simple... What started out as a nightmare of a trip, turns into a catastrophe – and they would give anything to be able to go back and change the past. But appearances can be deceiving…

**Notes: **_Italics _shows thoughts. Things enclosed by /_ Flashback _/ are flashbacks.

Aragorn equals Estel, equals Strider (I know most of you already know this by now, just have to make sure ; ).

**A/N:** Yay, finally posting again! I was hoping to post the sequel to _The Wrong One_, but Imbecamiel agreed to give a go at co-authoring this story with me, and it ended up coming out pretty quickly. I'm making good progress on the sequel, but I just couldn't wait to talk to you all again : D I'm really excited to be posting again, so please talk to me, and let me know I'm not completely forgotten! LOL.

We'll do our best to respond to reviews, but our schedule has been extremely hectic of late (not enough to keep us from the actual _posting_, LOL), so please bear with us.

One last thing… I'd like to give a special thanks to **_Eleniel_** **_Ithel_** for all the hard work she put into betaing this for us. Thank you, mellon-nín!

Now for chapter one…

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**-Chapter one -**

Aragorn stumbled and fell to his knees, cursing the bound hands that prevented him from catching himself. Legolas dug in his heels, jerking the orc that held the rope attached to his own bound hands. He desperately tried to assist his friend before their captors found another excuse to vent their anger on him.

Using his friend's arm for leverage, Aragorn struggled to his feet just as the two irritated orcs turned on them. This clumsy human and his defensive elf-friend had jerked them to a halt far too many times this night, in their short-tempered opinions.

"Here, you!"

The orc in charge of Aragorn pulled the rope hard, and the human, still slightly off balance, was once more knocked off his feet.

"Get up you lazy scum!" The orc scowled and swore in his foul speech as Aragorn clumsily rose to his knees. Furious at the delays his captive kept causing, he aimed a vicious kick at his ribs. "Didn't you hear what I said? Get up, we haven't got all night!" The kicks that punctuated his words weren't doing anything to help the man regain his feet, but at this point the orc was in no mood for reason. Suddenly, he was astonished to find himself falling to the ground.

He had paid little heed to the other captive's furious protests when he had begun beating the man. Let him shout all he wanted, there was little enough he could do about anything. Or so he had thought. The furious strength with which Legolas had jerked himself from the grip of the orc holding him had startled it so much that it had not had the time to warn its friend before the other orc was knocked to the ground.

Now the laughter of the other orcs served only to further enrage the felled one.

"Ha! And here he was upset about the _human_ not being able to keep 'is feet. Goin' to let yourself be bested by a tied elf, Blagrak?"

Picking himself up from the ground with a snarl, Blagrak growled at the rebellious prisoner "That was a very bad idea, _elf_. You'll soon regret it, though. I'll see to that."

The elf in question appeared singularly unimpressed by his threat, merely staring back in silent contempt. A punch from the orc landed him on his back. Before he could regain his feet, Blagrak was on him, taking out all the fury of his injured pride. He was soon enthusiastically joined by Zargut, the orc who had been holding Legolas earlier, whose own pride had been more than a little stung by the taunts of his fellows at the ease with which Legolas had escaped his grasp. Egged on by the other orcs, they gladly saw to it that the elf learned a lesson in what it meant to provoke an orc.

Aragorn had, by now, regained his feet, and tried desperately to stop the abuse. He rammed his shoulder into Zargut's stomach, knocking him into a tree. Turning to Blagrak, he was met with an iron clad fist, which slammed into his face, stunning him. Before either of the orcs could renew their "lessons" to the prisoners, another voice interrupted them.

"Here now, what's this? I _told_ you, no stopping! There'll be plenty of time to have fun with the prisoners _after_ we make camp."

" But Sharzag, they was…" Zargut began to whine.

"I don't CARE what the prisoners were doing! We're far to close to them elves yet for my tastes." the large orc growled to his subordinates, "Blagrak, Zargut - get them up, and no more delays. You understand?"

The two orcs sullenly mumbled in the affirmative, roughly pulling their still dazed prisoners up, and jerking them forward.

Legolas watched his friend with concern as they continued their unrelenting pace. Aragorn's limp had been growing steadily worse over the past two days, and now he began to worry that his friend would not be able to keep up much longer.

_Keep up? Who am I fooling? He can barely stay on his feet as it is!_

So far the orcs had been in too great a hurry to distance themselves from Rivendell to take time to give their captives more than passing notice, for which Legolas was grateful. All the same, he knew that they would soon be far enough away to slow their pace, and he wasn't looking forward to the attention they would receive then. Inwardly, he groaned in frustration as he thought back to the day of their capture.

_If only I hadn't provoked him! If he hadn't been hurt in the first place, we might have avoided capture altogether…_

/ _Legolas shot out of the woods towards the river, his friend just a few yards behind him._

"_Legolas! That was an unfair start – and you know it!"_

_Legolas gracefully leapt onto a large rock by the side of the river and turned to smile innocently at Aragorn as he ran out of the woods panting._

"_Unfair?"_

"_Yes, _unfair_." Aragorn sat down on the bank. "Elves are naturally faster than humans, did you really need a head-start to win that race?"_

"_A head-start?" Legolas pretended to be hurt, "Your reflexes were simply slow, mellon-nín, we started out at the same time."_

_He smiled smugly as the human glared._

"_Look, Strider, would you do me a favor?"_

_His irritation slightly depleted now that he had caught his breath, Aragorn answered absentmindedly, "Sure…What is it?"_

"_Well, you have been on the road for over a week.."_

"_Yes?"_

"_And it's been so hot out lately…" Legolas continued to hint._

"_And your point is?"_

"_I guess," here Legolas paused to sigh dramatically, and risked a glance to see how his next words effected the ranger. "There really is no delicate way to say this…Will you just take a bath—you're filthy, human!"_

_Aragorn lunged._

_Fortunately, Legolas had been anticipating this. The rock he was sitting on stood some feet out into the stream, and when Legolas leapt backwards Aragorn stumbled over the rock, and into the ice-cold water._

_Legolas laughed—until he realized that Aragorn wasn't rising._

"_Mellon-nín?" he walked over to where his friend was._

_Aragorn looked at him and grimaced. Now getting worried, Legolas offered his hand the fallen human._

"_Are you alright?" he asked with genuine concern._

_Aragorn took his hand._

_Suddenly, the grimace was gone, and Aragorn was grinning smugly._

"_Mellon-nín, you just fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book."_

_Relishing the look of surprise on the elf's face, Aragorn pulled Legolas down into the stream beside him. Then, not waiting for his friend to wipe the water out of his eyes, he began to hastily retreat to the shore._

"_Not so fast, you filthy human! You haven't had _nearly _enough time in the water to get clean!"_

_Legolas jumped forward, wrapping his arms around Aragorn's legs and sending him sprawling back into the water. Aragorn's legs crumbled out from beneath him and he collapsed face-first into the stream. Legolas dodged around the rock he'd been sitting on just minutes before, just as he resurfaced. _

_Fixing his friend with a menacing glare, Aragorn positioned himself on the other side. Their eyes locked and they began to circle back and forth in a contest of wills. Clothes now soaking wet, and with drenched hair plastered to their faces and shoulders, they made a ludicrous duo. They stood in the frigid water, neither willing to back down themselves, but both daring the other to do so._

_Suddenly swerving to the left, Legolas scooped his hands into the water and sprayed Aragorn in the face. Sputtering through a face-full of water, Aragorn lunged blindly at Legolas just as he jumped back out of reach. _

"_That's the third time, mellon-nín." Legolas stood confidently over Aragorn, who had once more tripped and fallen. "When are you going to give up and just surrender?" _

"_Very well," Aragorn said between clenched teeth, "I give up." he tried to stand, but before he'd reached his feet he groaned and sunk back to his knees._

"_Aragorn, are you all right?"_

"_I'm fine."_

"_Why do I somehow doubt that? You wouldn't be saying that you were fine, unless you were most definitely _not_ fine." Legolas help Aragorn to his feet and onto the shore where he forced him to sit down. "Now, show me where you got hurt." _

"_I'm fine." . _

"_Which leg?"_

"_I said I'm _fine_!"_

"_You could save yourself a lot of pain, human, it you'd just tell me which leg you hurt." _

"_Left." Aragorn grumbled, sulkily crossing his arms._

_Legolas reached out and tentatively began to inspect his left leg. Aragorn stiffened and put a hand on his arm._

"_Mellon-nín, I know it hurts but I must look at it just in case—" _

"_No, listen."_

_With a start Legolas finally heard what he had been too concerned over his friend to notice earlier: a steadily approaching sound of tramping feet and snapping branches. His eyes widened as his mind reluctantly grasped its significance. _

"_Yrch!" He breathed._

"_Could they have _possibly _chosen a worse time?" Aragorn muttered as he struggled to his feet with Legolas' help._

_Bracing himself against a tree, he drew his sword in preparation for a fight. Nocking an arrow on his bowstring, Legolas positioned himself between his friend and the orcs. _

_As the first orcs appeared through the trees, swift arrows flew, easily taking down the first startled beasts. Judging by their reaction, it appeared their discovery had been accidental. The thought that they were about to be killed by orcs who had stumbled over them by chance, rather than purposely hunting them down, was small comfort, however, as their foes quickly recovered from their initial surprise, withdrawing behind the trees, out of arrow range. As they prepared for a more organized attack, Legolas put up his bow, knowing that when the attack came, it would be too fast to make arrows practical._

_From the start, the fight was an impossible one. His injured leg preventing easy movement, Aragorn was hard pressed to defend himself, even with the large tree providing a measure of protection for his back. Legolas moved swiftly, cutting down as many orcs as he could, but he was sorely hampered by his attempts to aid his friend while at the same time blocking the blows aimed at himself. Still, some part of his mind noted with mixed emotions that the blows did not appear to be intended to kill._

_The orcs meant to take them alive. _

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Legolas was abruptly brought back to the present as the Orcs stopped, shoving both of them down next to a tree. He noted with worry how his friend turned his head away from him and tried to subdue a gasp of pain as he landed directly on his injured ankle.

"Are you alright?" he asked with concern.

Aragorn grinned wryly. "That's an interesting question to be asking in the middle of an Orc-camp, mellon-nín."

"Let me rephrase that: how is your ankle?"

"Fine."

"'Fine', as in 'the pain is excruciating and I'm probably going to pass out, but I don't think I'll be left with a permanent limp', or 'fine', as in 'this isn't going to work much longer, and I'm about to die from exhaustion'?"

"Neither." Aragorn offered him a wry smile. "It's not that bad—I'm quite certain that it's only sprained. And the pain, well… I don't think I'm on the verge of passing out. You'll just have to accept it this time: I really _am _alright."

"In _that_ case…"

Before Aragorn could react, Legolas reached forward with his bound hands and gently touched his leg. Aragorn started, but managed to suppress the yelp of pain that almost escaped him.

"You're 'fine'?"

Aragorn answered between clenched teeth as he acclimated once more to the pain, "Well, it might be a little swollen."

Legolas would have laughed had they been in any less dangerous of a situation.

"A _little_ swollen! You've been walking on a sprained ankle for two days—and it's a _little _swollen!"

"Okay, make that _very _swollen." Aragorn spoke more harshly than he meant to, but hurried to amend his last words, "It is very swollen, and very painful, mellon-nín, but there is absolutely nothing either of us can do about it, so I'm just doing my best to ignore it."

"And hope it goes away?" Legolas smiled slightly.

Aragorn chuckled and gingerly stretched his long legs out before him, "It might."

They sat in silence then, both leaning wearily back against the tree as they kept a wary eye on the orcs' activity. Though they felt reluctant to let down their guard enough to sleep, in the end their exhaustion, combined with the knowledge that staying awake would do little to prevent the orcs from doing just as they pleased, forced them to give in to the lure of rest.

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Legolas woke with a start, absently noting that the sun was now well overhead. Glancing around, he quickly found the source of the noise that woke him in the first place. Several of the orcs were fighting, shoving each other as they shouted in the Black speech. Legolas winced at the sound of the language. The orcs had been unable to find a cave to spend the day in, a fact which none of them had been at all pleased at. The fact that the day was very cloudy and game was plentiful in the area served to curb their displeasure somewhat, but all of their tempers were obviously on edge. For now, it appeared that they were content to take their irritation out on each other, but Legolas knew all too well that it was likely only a matter of time before they began looking to their prisoners for a more satisfying means of releasing their frustration.

Glancing over at his friend, he saw that he still slept.

_Better to let him get what rest he can. He'll soon be needing all the strength he has._

He rested his head against the tree, watching disinterestedly as the orcs continued their argument. He had no idea what it was about, not that he really cared anyways, as long as it kept their interest away from Aragorn and himself.

_I very much doubt that even_ they _know what they're arguing about by now._

His contempt for the creatures must have showed all to clearly. Blagrak, who had been watching the fight, glancing in his direction, caught the look.

"What do you think you're looking at like that, elf?" He growled.

Legolas could think of quite a few responses to such a stupid question, none of which were likely to be conductive to either his own, or his friend's health. So he kept his silence, contenting himself with a disgusted glare.

"Still defiant, eh? I think it's about time we did something about that. Besides, I still haven't given you the lesson I promised earlier.

Completely forgetting any arguments with each other, the orcs all turned their attention to what promised to be a far more interesting diversion.

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Aragorn woke quickly when Legolas nudged his leg with the toe of his boot, the sight of the angry orcs approaching bringing him to instant alertness.

"Might I ask what you said to make then _that_ angry, mellon-nin?" Aragorn's tense whisper was only half jesting.

"Nothing! Nothing at all." Legolas paused for half a second. "Actually, I think that's just the problem."

"Oh." Aragorn considered saying more, but all thoughts of further reply were banished by the orcs' near approach.

He watched helplessly as they jerked his friend to his feet, the firm grip of an orc on his own arm preventing any interference.

Blagrak approached Legolas, who was held in place by two large orcs. If he expected his captive to shrink from him, he was to be sorely disappointed. The elf held himself firmly erect, his face expressionless.

"You think you're so tough, huh? We'll soon see how long you keep that high-and-mighty attitude of yours!"

Though his outward composure was perfect, Legolas could feel his stomach twisting into knots as he contemplated what was to come.

"You've had this comin' to you for a long time, elfy."

Blagrak pressed the tip of the long, thin blade he carried against the elf's chest, increasing the pressure when the only thing his actions drew from the elf was blood. Suddenly, he hesitated, drawing back slightly as he turned to see Sharzag approaching.

"Well, well, well, what have we here? Decided to have a little fun with the prisoners, did we?"

"Yes-no… I mean… you _did_ say that when we made camp…" Blagrak stammered, unsure where his chief was leading with his questions.

Legolas felt a slight hope rise within him. After all, Sharzag _had_ made them stop earlier. Perhaps… but the fragile hope was shattered again a moment later.

A slow smile spread across Sharzag's face, sending shivers up the elf's spine. "Yes, I did, didn't I…" The orc seated himself on a nearby log, with an easy view of the proceedings. " Very well, then, carry on, boys."

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****Well there you have it. Chapter two will be up next Friday. Hopefully, we'll be able to post weekly on that day. Now, before Imbecamiel and I get desperate and start in with the shameless pleading…please review? Hearing your comments is one of the things I enjoy most about writing fanfiction ; ) So hit that blue button, so conveniently situated below, and make two authors very, very happy. **

**- Nefhiriel & Imbecamiel -**


	2. Chapter 2

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**He's Gone**

By Nefhiriel & Imbecamiel

**Rating:** T (PG-13)

**Genres: **Action/Adventure/Angst

**_For disclaimer and notes see chapter one. Reviewer responses at bottom of chapter._**

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**A/N: I'm so happy to be back! I didn't realize just how much I missed all of you until I started receiving reviews : D Thank you for indulging our obsessions ; )**

**So far, I (Nefhiriel) will be writing the authors' notes and responses, but Imbecamiel might take over in later chapters. -g- I'm trying to refrain from using "we" too often, because Imbecamiel thinks it makes me sound schizophrenic, LOL. But if it slips in here and there, be reassured I do _not _have multiple personalities. At least….I didn't the last time we checked, Precioussss…**

**One last thing…I have to apologize to _Eleniel Ithil_ for spelling her name wrong on the last chapter. I've been such a scatterbrain lately (heh, I guess you can blame any mistakes in the chapter to my recent mental problems too ; ) Sorry Eleniel…Anything you don't edit, I just _have_ to mess up somehow : P Ah, I guess we're back to "Apologetic Notes" again...Oh well. **

**-gulp- Well this is the chapter that makes this story merit a PG-13 rating. Angst-lovers enjoy! –sigh- I hope It's not too melodramatic… Review and let us know before Imbecamiel has a panic attack, LOL. **

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**-Chapter two -**

There was a momentary flurry of movement, as orcs snatched up favored clubs and knives. They had been anticipating this ever since they had first taken their captives. Now that the time had finally come, none of them had any intention of being left out of the fun. Blagrak, however, had other ideas. Motioning them away, he claimed first rights for himself. A few quiet murmurs of complaint arose, but, seeing as Blagrak was their leader's lieutenant, none dared object too openly.

Blagrak turned back to Legolas, delight fairly oozing off of him. With a grin, he began slicing the elf's tunic away, not bothering to be terribly scrupulous about differentiating between cloth, and skin. Still, the elf did not flinch. He turned away, growling to his companion as he did so, "Tie him to that tree good and tight. I'll be right back."

As Blagrak wandered off a short distance in search of the perfect tool to use on the infuriating elf, Zargut threaded another rope through Legolas' already bound hands. With this secured, he pulled the elf over to a nearby tree. Looping the rope over a low-hanging branch, he drew it tight until Legolas had to rise up slightly on his toes. Then, tying it off tightly around the tree, he stepped back slightly, awaiting Blagrak's return with anticipation.

When he did come back, he looked, if anything, even more pleased with himself than before. In one hand, he carried a small leather pouch, in the other, a multi-pronged whip with what appeared to be small bits of metal and bone attached to it. Tucking the pouch into his belt, he began shaking out the whip, taking his time to savor the moment, enjoying keeping the elf in suspense, waiting to see what his "punishment" would be.

Legolas stared at the bark of the tree in front of him, trying desperately to think of anything but what was to come. He had done his best with look and gesture to persuade his friend not to interfere or draw unnecessary attention to himself. For Strider's sake, he had to be strong, had to keep himself from showing how much it hurt.

_He'll have a hard enough time as it is, without my… weakness making it worse. I've got to—_

His thoughts ground to a sudden halt as thin lines of fire flared across his back. He jerked slightly and stiffened, but caught himself in time to keep from crying out. As line after line of agony layered, one on top of another, it grew more and more difficult to keep from showing any reaction. Still, he clenched his jaw and fixed his mind on his friend. He would keep silent for his sake, he _would_…

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Aragorn leaned against a tree, hardly conscious of the grip of the orc, his entire focus on his friend. He clenched and unclenched his fists spasmodically. His mind knew that Legolas was probably right, that antagonizing the orcs, or trying to help him would only result in worse trouble for both of them. But right now his heart was telling him an entirely different story. He knew the lengths his friend was going to in trying to keep him from knowing just how bad it was, but he knew him all too well to be fooled by the stoic façade. He saw the tense set of the elf's shoulders, the way his wrists twisted in the ropes…

He flinched as yet another blow landed on his friend's back. A hiss of pain escaped the elf, instantly cut off. That was it. Foolish or not, he wasn't going to just stand quietly by and let them do this to his friend. He _couldn't_. With a cry of fury and pain, he threw himself forward, desperate to escape the hold of his guard. Unfortunately, the orcs were all to familiar with their captives' tendencies and despite the distraction of the day's "entertainment", the orc held firm. Another orc noticed the trouble the human was causing, and moved over to add his strength to the other's. Still, Aragorn fought on. Finally, one of the orcs landed a furious kick to his wounded ankle, sending sparks of agony shooting up his leg. The pain momentarily stunned him, and he sagged back against the tree, taking the weight off the leg. By the time he had somewhat recovered, the first orc was holding a knife at his throat. He had tired of playing with the man, and decided to end the struggle.

"One more move, and I'll cut your throat. Don't think I'm bluffing, 'cause I mean every word of it." The ranger stilled completely as the knife pressed even harder against his neck, drawing a fine line of blood.

So Aragorn watched in enforced stillness as his friend's pain stretched on for what seemed an eternity. Finally Blagrak pulled back, studying the elven prince's bloody back with satisfaction. Strider sagged slightly in relief. Knife or not, he didn't think he could have stayed still much longer. Now Blagrak had had his fun, maybe they would leave their prisoners alone for a while and… Or not. His heart sank as Blagrak stepped towards Legolas once more, tugging the leather pouch out of his belt. Leaning in close, he whispered something in the elf's ear, too quietly for Aragorn to hear from that distance. He saw the elf stiffen, and his heart clenched, wondering despairingly what the orc was up to now.

Blagrak dipped his hand into the bag, bringing out what appeared to be a sort of white powder.

_What…_

Suddenly his eyes widened as realization struck.

_Salt! He can't mean to—O Valar, no!_

But obviously the orc _did _"mean to". With one hand on the elf's shoulder, he began firmly grinding the salt into the elf's raw back with the other.

Legolas jerked away, the pained cry coming too quickly to cut off. Delighted at finally receiving a more satisfactory response from the obstinate captive, the orc only tightened his grip on his shoulder. Applying himself to his task with the eye, almost, of an artist, he took care not to miss a single cut in his ministrations.

Aragorn was trembling far worse than his friend. The elf's hisses of pain drove him nearly to distraction. Knife or no, there was no way he was putting up with this any longer. Stealing a glance sideways, he saw that the guards were totally absorbed in the spectacle before them, apparently believing their prisoner too cowed to try anything more, and trusting to the knife to prevent his entertaining any such ideas.

Unfortunately for the orcs, the lack of vigilance on the part of the one holding said knife had allowed his grip to relax, and it was now resting against Aragorn's collarbone. Barely controlling the desperate urge to simply throw himself forward and rush to his friend's side, the ranger carefully drew himself together. Suddenly lunging forward and to the side, he rammed his shoulder into the stomach of one of the guards. Spinning around faster than thought, he wrenched the knife from the other's hand, not giving it an instant to recover before slitting its throat.

Holding the knife in a defensive position, as best he could with still-bound hands, he started towards his friend, taking full advantage of the precious time left to him before what exactly had happened penetrated the thick skulls of the orcs. When it finally _did _break through, seconds later, the entire camp erupted into activity. Nearby orcs moved to intercept the human. Sharzag left to his feet, trying to discover the source of the disturbance. Blagrak spun around, distracted from his work on the prisoner by the sudden chaos that had so suddenly interrupted him.

Released from the rough hold on his shoulder Legolas twisted around in his bonds. He prayed fervently that his friends wasn't the cause of the disturbance, even while he knew in his heart there could be no other explanation.

Orcs lunged at Aragorn, their own numbers hampering their efforts as they stumbled and tripped over one another in their hurry to regain control over the human. Adrenalin surged through him allowing him to dodge faster, and with more certainty, than he would have thought possible. An odd, detached feeling came over him, bringing with it the sensation of moving in slow motion. His mind registered almost nothing of his surroundings, while, at the same time, his body seemed to respond automatically to every threat. Striking out left and right with the knife, he slid through the press of orcs.

Sharzag growled his disgust as he watched his underlings' attempts at recapturing the human. _One_ human! One pitiful, weak, injured human was all they were asked to guard while he watched the day's entertainment. But could they do it? Of course not! Shoving his subordinates out of the way, he stalked towards the escaped prisoner. If they couldn't get him back under control, he'd just have to do it himself.

As he reached out to grab Aragorn, the man spun around, reacting instantaneously to the new threat. Sharzag recoiled slightly in surprise, his right hand gripping a newly-acquired gash on his left shoulder. Recovering almost instantly, however, he took advantage of his close proximity to land a solid kick to the man's injured ankle. Smiling with cruel satisfaction, he watched as the prisoner's leg buckled, sending him to his knees. Several orcs rushed to roughly subdue him―after having kicked the knife safely beyond his reach.

Stomping over to where his subordinates held Aragorn on his knees, Sharzag glared down at the now-panting man.

"I've had about as much as I'm going to take out of you, human!" He spat. Even in his helpless position, Aragorn's defiant gaze infuriated him, and he furiously backhanded the man, snapping his head to the side. "You've done nothing but make trouble and slow us down from the start. Well it ends now! Boys, do what you like with him, but _don't_ go easy."

"You mean we can kill 'im now?" One orc piped up, hesitant hopefulness in it's voice.

Sharzag paused a moment, thoughtfully. "Try not to. But," he continued at the sighs of disappointment that arose, "if he _does_ die… well, I wouldn't get _too_ upset over it." With that, he stalked away to bind up his arm.

The orcs grinned at each other. Blagrak had got all the fun with the elf today, and they had all been itching to try their own hands at it. Now that their leader had all but _told_ them to kill this one… He need hardly have told them not to go easy.

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Aragorn fixed his eyes on the ground in front of him. He had no desire to watch the orcs, and he couldn't bring himself to look at his friend. He knew how upset the elf must be. Upset? Judging from his own experience the word hardly described the magnitude of that he knew he must feel. He only hoped Legolas could forgive him his recklessness.

So he knelt there, no longer struggling against the hands that held him. I was not that he had given up―far from it―he was just as determined to somehow get himself and Legolas out of this as ever. But he knew that to continue fighting now would only enrage the orcs further, lessening whatever, admittedly very slim, chances he might have of surviving this.

He flinched, drawing in a sharp breath as the first blows struck him. Biting his lip hard, he refused to give them any satisfaction. Soon, however, keeping himself silent ceased to be a problem, as repeated blows to his chest and stomach left him with no breath to cry out with.

Gasping for breath, he sent up a silent, desperate prayer.

_Eru please… please help me survive this…_

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Legolas had thought his heart would stop when he heard Sharzag's calloused orders. Now, it seemed determined to pound its way out of his chest. Valar, they were going to kill him. They were too eager, even, to tie him or put any organization or forethought into what they were doing.

_Why? Why does he always have to do this? Why can't he just leave well enough alone?_

But really, he knew perfectly well what had driven his friend to do what he had. Those same feelings were tearing his own heart out now, and the utter helplessness of this whole situation was nearly enough to drive him mad. He jerked feverishly against his bonds.

But however furiously he protested, his curses, shouts, and pleadings all fell alike on deaf ears as the orcs continued to beat Aragorn, occasionally adding a club or axe-handle to the merciless blows they delivered with fists and booted feet. Legolas continued to twist and pull frantically at the rough ropes around his wrists, heedless of the trickles of blood now running down his arms. Finally he was forced to admit defeat. He slumped weakly against the tree at his back, tears streaming freely down his cheeks. He watched the scene before him with sickening horror, not wanting to see, but unable to tear his eyes away from it. As he watched, he whispered his own prayers to Illúvatar. He was the only one who could help them now.

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Legolas could feel a rising panic welling up inside him. How long had this been going on? Minutes? Hours? It felt like an eternity. Even with the clouds covering it, he knew that the sun must be drawing near the western horizon. Just how near he couldn't guess. A fain stirring of hope rose in his heart. They would have to leave off soon if they wished to travel with the approaching darkness―wouldn't they? His heart clenched at the thought of Aragorn again being forced to keep up with the orcs' relentless pace tonight.

_But perhaps tonight, at least, they will allow me to aid him…_

He had no desire to see his friend forced on a march _anywhere _after this, but at least he _would _still be alive.

_There is still some hope, he…_

Zargut put a swift end to such optimistic thoughts. Or more precisely, what he held in his hand as he approached Aragorn. Legolas' eyes widened, and he gave a shout of alarm. At the sound, his friend struggled to raise his head and fix his gaze on the knife held tauntingly in front of his face.

"You're getting rather boring, ranger. How's about trying somethin' new?" Zargut grinned menacingly.

Moving with slow deliberation, he placed the dagger against Aragorn's upper right arm. Then, he pushed it, drawing it sharply downward as he pulled it back out. Aragorn was too weak to try to disguise the pain that flashed across his face. He tensed, and a cry broke from him as the dagger was jerked free.

Finally receiving a more satisfactory response from him only served to excite the orcs further. They urged Zargut on, shouting and pressing closer, as he began cutting shallow slashes across the man's chest. Standing back a moment, he studied the human, considering what he should do next. At last, deciding that tried-and-true methods were best, he started forward, thinking to cut Aragorn's left arm as he had the right. As he stepped forward, his boot caught on a tree root, knocking him slightly off-balance. Unfortunately, another orc chose just that moment to bump into him, sending him sprawling into Aragorn. Zargut scrambled back again, but not before the damage had been done.

For several moment they all simply stared stupidly at the knife which now protruded from the humans chest. Then the orcs that had been restraining him released their hold on his arms, and he fell limply to the ground. No sound came from either the orcs, or the human.

At last one of them spoke up.

"Zargut, you idiot! He could've lasted a long while yet. Now you've gone and killed 'im!"

"_I _killed 'im?" Zargut protested, gesticulating wildly. "It weren't my fault! 'e pushed me!"

At that, a shouting match broke out, which threatened to have become and all-out fight among the orcs, had not Sharzag chosen that moment to reappear.

"Isn't the prisoner enough, you've got to start on each other too! What's all this about?"

"He killed the prisoner before we was through with 'im!" whined one of the orcs, pointing accusingly at Zargut.

"Did he now?" Sharzag walked over the limp man and kicked him over onto his back. For a moment he studied him, then he turned away with a snort. "Just as well. We're moving out tonight. You three," He pointed at a group standing nearby. "I want you to scout ahead. See if you can find an easy place to cross that cursed river. The rest of you," He turned back to the group at large, "get ready to move out, we leave as soon as it gets dark."

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It couldn't be him. That bloody, beaten form with a dagger sticking out of it's chest was _not _his friend. It just couldn't be. Not Aragorn.

An irrepressible sob broke free from Legolas' heaving chest. The orcs around him laughed at the prisoner's display of emotion, but Legolas didn't hear them. Right now the grief he felt was all too consuming. Anger would come later, but for the moment all he could feel was grief. There was an inexplicable ache in his heart, and the pain in his chest grew so intense that it stole his breath away. With each beat of his racing heart, his mind repeated, _Not Aragorn…No mellon-nín, no… _But the irrefutable proof was before him.

He didn't know how long he stared at all that was left of his friend, lost in his shock and grief. Finally the orcs decided it was time to break camp and move on. Rough claws grabbed his arms, and as he was physically torn away from the sight of his friend, a single tear welled in his clear blue eyes and slid down his cheek.

**

* * *

****Eru! –shakes Cami- Imbecamiel, _when _did you do _this_! –clears throat- My dear readers… You must excuse my sister. She's a new rookie and really hasn't learned all the rules about not killing off characters… -eg- Poor Aragorn. And I'm afraid we're not nearly done with the…er…fun. –smiles evilly at Legolas- **

**Responses to Reviewers:**

**Erulasse: **Hey mellon-nín! –huggles- Thanks for the lovely e-mail : D Yup, you're right, you were the first! -hands trophy- My turn to give prizes for admirable lightening-speed reviewing ; ) Oh thanks, we're both so happy to hear that everyone's enjoying the beginning so much. I must admit, we were just a _tad _worried : P -g- Well, like I said, the sequel is defiantly in the works (it'll be called _Return to a New Place_). I'm already on chapter 12 I believe – so yes, it won't be too long, hopefully.

**Viggomanic:** Yay, I can't tell you just _how _happy we were to get your review. Your reviews are always so helpful and insightful : D Heh, well, this story will definitely fill your angst-quota. We made sure of it. -double-checks- Yup: angst, pain, emotional trauma, and overall misery. Should do the trick. Oh, and btw, I'm eternally grateful to you for your fabulous C2C! You update it so often, I'm rarely left without a good fic at the end a hard day. ROTFL! You must crack-up every time one of our stubborn heroes gets hurt, and refuses to admit it. There's something terribly hilarious about the way guys hate to ask for help… LOL! You actually read our reviews? Imbecamiel and I laughed so hard when we read that. Good, I'm glad you think we're handling this well. I know how it can be; with some stories it's a nightmare trying to follow the plot…simply because there isn't one. I hope the story ends up meeting expectations. It's really quite short (I think it's about ten chapters). Thanks for your faith in it : ) Oh, and thank you, also, for reviewing "Sleep Now, Tithen Muindor" – it was very encouraging to get a new review on it!

**polingly: **-g- I'm so happy to be posting too, mellon-nín! (oh, btw, the plural is mellyn-nín ; ) Hehee, yeah, you've figured me out… Just can't wait to get my hands on the poor ranger. But you see, Imbecamiel really balances me out, preferring Legolas angst as she does. This whole story went so smoothly with her writing most of Legolas, and me writing most of Aragorn. It's rather difficult to get back to writing by myself after only having to do half the work! I think I'm spoiled now. –sighs- Ah, the joys of co-authorship… -hugs- Hannon le, gwathel-nin. You and Leeanne never cease to encourage me (and Imbecamiel now, too : ).

**elvingirl3737: **The button is your friend, the button is your friend…Just keep repeating that, over and over… LOL. No, it's not so bad, and really quite painless too! -shocked- Legolas in trouble? Whatever gave you that idea? -g- Yes, yes, Imbecamiel and I tried our hardest to make this a guaranteed "angst loving psycho" pleaser. Hope it doesn't disappoint ; ) Thank you so much for the review!

**Lady Leeanne: **Hey! Suliad, mellon-nín! -eg- KILL Legolas! Now why would we do that, and ruin your lovely wedding plans? Permanently damage... Well, er, you know how us fanfic authors get carried away with the angst… It _does _happen, you know. -sighs- But… I _suppose_ we could promise not to mar his wonderful looks. I mean, you're not going to let a missing limb or two spoil your marriage, are you? Wow, you're getting to be the president of quite a few little foundations! -bows in respect to the Founder of the Fellowship For Flat-Footed Females- (that's a mouthful!) LOL. Thanks for the review : D

**jacquelinestel: **Yay! –huggles- You have no clue how much I've missed your reviews, mellon-nín! ROTFL! Yes, Legolas, say that whole thing about rats again… -giggles- Oh, I'll always remember that review. I was scanning through LG's reviews, and fell in love with your little skits when I found that one…Heh, you'd better _not _go and die of joy on me! Then I wouldn't get to read anymore of your hilarious reviews – and you wouldn't get to read the rest of the story! -g- So the two of them are down to stuffing socks down each other's throats? -sighs- How adorable. It's so cute when they start taking everything you say literally… Oh you poor dear! How many times _have _you had to hide their weapons? -shakes head- Hehee…Oh Estel, you're so cute! "I never, ever want to hear that again. Elves practicing inflection is just scary." LOL. And what a grand-finale: scrambling for the Disney souvenir bucket -g- Hope you have fun trying to get those two to share. Thanks for the review!

**Deana: **-g- Thanks! We're both really glad you like it. Hope you enjoyed the new chapter : D

**Ainu Laire: **Ah yes…the poor ranger… It _is _another one of _those _stories, unfortunately for him (and Legolas, too). Hehee, yup, angst will certainly be high! -eg- Thanks so much for taking the time to review – we both really appreciate it!

**Gods-girl2004: **-huggles- Hey, mellon-nín! -g- I'm so glad you like it. -shakes finger- Now, now, Pip, just because you're not exactly…normal, doesn't mean you can't at least pretend ; ) Insane people can't have all the privileges just because they're "special", you know (I've learned this from experience…). -beams with pride- Yes, Pip, that was a gloriously long review, if somewhat filled with insanity : D But, by now, you know I don't mind… Aww, Will misses me? -huggles Will- I miss him too! We need to IM more often : ) Hehee, you could never embarrass me! Well…at least I don't _think _so… -g- Just remember Pip, pretend to be sane, pretend to be sane… Keep repeating that over and over, you'll get the hang of it ; ) Oh and one other thing… -glances around nervously- You've read several chapters forward so, don't be spilling the beans to the other reviewers? Shh… LOL. Thanks for the review, mellon-nín!

**goddesscal: **Oh, hello again, I remember you (really I DO)! Just having you pop in to tell me you have, and are, enjoyed my (and now _our_) stories is wonderfully encouraging! LOL, you have that right, there certainly is plenty in store for our poor heroes… -eg- Thank you so, so much for taking the time to review!

**Puzzler: **Aww, thanks so much! I'm really glad to hear you're liking it so far : D LOL, you'll find out soon enough who's "gone"…sort of -eg- Well, thank you so much for taking the time to review! I hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**crazyAZN kid: **Hi again! -blushes- Wow, I'm glad you found my story so exciting : D LOL, well, I think Imbecamiel's…calming influence always improves what I write. We're very compatible ; ) She's the logic, and I'm the drama, so to speak. Anyways… I'm happy to hear you see a difference: progress is always the goal of an author. Thank you so much for the review – we both appreciate it a TON! Hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**Nietta: **LOL, nope, I don't think this will qualify as "run of the mill". Yes they're captured by orcs…but we worked hard to add a _little _different twist to it. Thank you so much for the review! I hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**Tinorial Peredhil: **YAY! I was excited to see "Review Alert" come into my inbox…I was just about frantic with joy to see "Tinorial Peredhil" at the top of the review -g- Whenever Imbecamiel and I got nervous about the kind of response this story would get, we'd both just say in unison: "Well, we know TP will review…". Yup, you're my constant (FEEL the pressure! LOL). Oh! -squeals- Guard AND Moldy! I'm so glad you brought them both along : ) Calm? -smiles sweetly- I AM calm, mellon-nin. If I got any calmer why I'd… -ponders- Well, I'd probably be writing short humor vignettes. Besides, in comparison to my next suspenseful story, this story is extremely calm! LOL. Hmm, I do have to agree with you on one point though: if they're giving them so much trouble, why don't the orcs just let them go? Hmm…Perhaps because they're brain-dead? Or maybe… -pauses- You know, I think I'd better stay away from orc psychology―I'll leave that to Saruman ; ) All _I _know, is that orcs are extremely stupid, and it's actually quite fortunate for us angst-lovers. I mean, what other creature than an orc would recapture THESE two over and over again? Oh yes, how could we forget "the Voice"! It just kept sneaking in, and we finally gave up and let it stay. –g- Besides, we knew you'd miss it. ROTFL! So you remember "Mr. Cleanion", do you? Well, I'll tell you now, he makes quite a major role in my next story (although at the moment he's being so frustrating he may not LIVE through the next story : P). Such strict rules! –scans list- Er…you really mean to tell me that these are the general feelings towards cliffies? Well you don't say… Ah, and as you've doubtless already guessed, I'm afraid I cannot abide by your "not killing canon characters" rule either…So sorry. Aww, how cute! –gives UR honorary position next to computer- UR: -screeching- Update! Update! Update! Hehee… -covers ears- I don't think you have to worry about me forgetting anymore... Yikes, look at the length of this response – I just can't shut-up today! Don't worry, I'll close before you die from a fatal overdose of rambling, mellon-nín ; ) Thanks so much for the review, I've been in need of a good TP read for a loooong time.

**HarryEstel: **Hey, suliad mellon-nín! -g- Yeah, it starts out intense, and this chapter was only more so. LOL, glad you like it though! Hope you enjoyed this chapter : ) Thanks so much for reviewing.

**-wipes forehead- Yikes that was a hard chapter to write! Despite what you may think, neither of us likes writing the brutal parts of stories. What? What're you all looking at us like that for! OK, so maybe just a _little _bit… **

**- Nefhiriel & Imbecamiel -**


	3. Chapter 3

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**He's Gone**

By Nefhiriel & Imbecamiel

**Rating:** T (PG-13)

**Genres: **Action/Adventure/Angst

**A/N: **I'm really, really sorry this didn't get posted till so late! We've been on vacation all week, and only just got back today. I thought we'd still be able to post earlier today, but some things came up and, well… We didn't. Heh, but enough of the obvious, here's the chapter, which I'm sure you'd all much rather read than my ramblings!

**_For disclaimer and notes see chapter one. Reviewer responses at bottom of chapter._**

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**Chapter 3**

It was the only logical answer, and perhaps Legolas _knew _it was the only logical answer—that didn't mean he believed it. At least, he couldn't bring himself believe it yet. Aragorn's death was just too harsh a reality for his numb mind to grasp.

An orc prodded him roughly in the back, but he hardly registered the pain.

They had survived so many dangers, and lived through so many situations that, at the time, had seemed could only end in both of their deaths. Yes, their "luck" had gotten them into trouble more times than either of them would have liked to confess, but it had also always gotten them back _out _again. This time it appeared that that so-called luck was either playing a dirty trick on them... or else it had finally run out―and at the worst time possible.

As this detached, numb feeling receded, it was replaced by overwhelming, almost panic-like, grief. Now that the disbelief was gone, reality came crashing down on him. Not even grief could obliterate the clamoring emotions he felt as his bruised mind began to pick of bits and pieces of the orc's conversation. Their mockery was not aimed at him alone; he could have born that, but now they laughed at the "pitiful human" who had died so easily.

That was the last straw for the grieving elf; they would _not _mock his dead friend.

"That weakling friend of yours is nothin' but warg meat now, elf." taunted one leering orc beside him.

Tears of grief transformed into tears of anger, and the orc found himself the unfortunate recipient of Legolas' icy, rage-filled glare. For a moment the orc remained almost mesmerized by the elf's intense blue eyes, threatening a painful death, then with a snarl the orc moved past him.

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Aragorn woke slowly. He didn't want to wake at all; his brain felt sluggish, and although it hadn't notified him yet, he had a feeling the he must be in pain—but for the life of him, he couldn't remember why. There was something else he was forgetting, something important…

_Legolas._

Memories came flooding back, and - as he sat up with a jerk - so did the pain. Feeling flared through his body. He looked down in surprise at the dagger protruding from his chest, then gasped and partially collapsed again as his other wounds also chose that moment to make themselves known.

After giving himself another minute to acclimate back to the world of consciousness and feeling, he pushed himself up cautiously on his elbows. His head swam, but he stayed upright, and even managed to scoot backwards until his back rested against a tree. Then he allowed himself a short break before fixing his attention on the dagger. Sighing and gritting his teeth, he did what had to be done, grasping the weapon and pulling it out in a single motion. He gasped in pain as the warm blood ran freely out of the wound, flowing over his bound hands.

Forcing his mind off of the fire that burned in his shoulder, he awkwardly maneuvered the rough orc-blade and cut the ropes. It proved even more awkward trying to keep pressure on his shoulder wound. His hands were trembling and pitifully weak, but after what seemed like an eternity, his blood clotted. Using his last reserves of energy, he loosely bandaged his shoulder and examined, as best he could, his other wounds. None of them, in themselves, was serious, but the accumulation of broken, cracked, and bruised ribs, blood-loss and countless other small injuries were beginning to make him feel nauseated.

Despite his anxious thoughts about his friend, he begrudgingly admitted to himself the he _did _need to rest. Reluctantly, he leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes.

As he thought through the events of the last few days, he couldn't help but let a small, ironic smile show. He and Legolas had often joked about how, with them, just when they thought things couldn't get any worse, things always did. Now, here he was, lying beaten and exhausted beneath a tree in the middle of the woods, without horse or supplies of any kind, his only weapon _one_ orc dagger, and Legolas was still in the hands of orcs. He couldn't help but wonder if, perhaps, they'd finally reached the end. Perhaps they'd finally reached the end of the line, where things actually _couldn't _get any worse. That was a cheerful thought.

He tilted his head up and took a deep breath. No, he decided, bad luck like theirs couldn't _possibly _last forever. He conveniently ignored the fact that, so far, this "luck" of theirs had lasted them all their lives, and it wasn't likely to abandon them today.

Forcing himself towards optimistic thoughts, he planned his next move. He would take a few more moments of rest, then he would find the orc tracks…

And that was when the rain came.

First there was one drop quickly followed by another, until pretty soon there was no denying the dismal truth—it was a downpour. In less than a minute Aragorn was hopelessly soaked, and sitting miserably in a growing mud puddle.

As Aragorn sat there, shivering, hurting, and generally miserable, he wanted nothing more than to simply lie down, fall asleep, and never wake up again. In fact, the only thing keeping him from doing just that was the thought of Legolas still in the hands of the orcs. He had to get to him, to find some way of rescuing him, and he had to do it soon. As it was, the orcs had a dispiritingly long head start on him.

Groaning, he forced protesting muscles to cooperate and, after several failed tries, managed to make it to his feet. For a few moments, he simply closed his eyes and leaned against the tree, gathering his strength. When the pain had abated to somewhat manageable levels, he opened his eyes and looked around to find the direction the orcs had taken.

Despite the pouring rain, the swath of destruction that they left in their wake was easy to discern. For the first time in his life, Aragorn found himself actually grateful for destructive tendencies of orcs. He really didn't think he could have managed any complicated tracking right now.

Pushing himself away from the tree, Aragorn stumbled off on the impossible quest he had set for himself.

There were only two things that gave him even the remotest chance of catching up with them. First, while he knew the area well, they appeared to be completely ignorant of the lie of the land. Therefore, while he had only to follow their footprints, they would often be delayed by unexpected obstacles. Not infrequently during the past few days, the orcs had been forced to call a halt while scouts were sent to find a ford over a rushing stream, or a way around an impassable thicket of briars.

Ironically, the second thing in his favor was the very rain that was making him so miserable. Doubtless the mud, wet, and cold would slow down even the orcs, and he hoped that the pouring water might further swell the already rushing river, making it even more difficult for the orcs to find a passable ford.

He held some hope, also, that Sharzag might not drive them quite so hard now that they were a little farther from Rivendell; however, that, of course, could not be counted on.

What, exactly, he intended to do if - _when_ - he caught up with them, he had not really considered. All he knew was that his best friend was in the hands of brutal enemies, and he had to, somehow, find a way to help him escape. He would think of something when the time came.

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Legolas knew that he had to make a choice. He truly did not want to go on. What was there left for him now? His grief for the loss of his friend blinded him to all that he still had. He could see no reason to fight for life and freedom now. Except…

There were yet the few last services he could give his friend. He could see to it that his body was properly buried, and he could tell his family of his fate, and that he had died bravely. But, none of those things could he do while he was still a prisoner of the orcs.

He wanted to give up, but how could he when Aragorn's body was still lying, forgotten, in the middle of the wilds? He could not so dishonor his best friend's memory. Besides that, he knew that Aragorn would not want him to surrender hope because of his loss.

So it was decided. He would watch for his opportunity.

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Aragorn tripped yet again, barely catching himself against a tree. He was exhausted. He had been walking for hours now, but he still refused to give himself more than a few minutes to lean against the tree before pushing himself onward. He dared not allow himself the luxury of sitting; he was too afraid that he would be unable to force himself back to his feet.

It was dark, but not utterly so. Some time ago the rain had finally ceased and the clouds dispersed, allowing the light of moon and stars to filter down through the trees. It was not much, perhaps, but for Aragorn's keen eyes, with a clear trail to follow, it was enough.

As he had hoped, he had seen several places where the orcs had clearly been forced to halt while a way was found around impassable places. He had also thought that they did not seem to be pushing quite so hard tonight, but he was not certain.

From the direction they appeared to be headed, he knew they must soon arrive at the river. It was sure to be swollen by the combination of snowmelt, spring rains, and now this most recent downpour. But how swollen was it? And the depth and speed of the river itself was not the only difficulty that would face them. The banks were steep here, cliffs really, that dropped off sharply, falling about a hundred feet before reaching the riverbed. He was sure they would have to turn aside some distance before they could cross. How far would they have to go before they could find a passable place?

Aragorn sighed. Wondering about such things served no purpose. He would just have to wait and see for himself what they would do. Waiting was not something that was usually difficult for him. As a ranger and a hunter, he had often been forced to endure long waits, and had developed an extraordinary amount of patience. But now, with Legolas' fate so uncertain, the helplessness, the frustration of not knowing...

He tried to push himself into a run, but his already agonizingly painful leg threatened to give out entirely, and he was forced to slow again. Worry for his friend, and the slowness of his progress ate at him, threatening to drag him down into despair.

_What am I thinking? There's no way I can possibly catch up with them like this! And even if I do, what then? What can one, injured man do against all of them?_ Setting his face with determination, he forced his thoughts away from that hopeless pattern. _I_ will _do something, I must. The morning can't be too far off now. They will stop at first light, and I can catch up with them then. And then...well, then I will think of something. Besides, it will not be only one. Legolas will be ready to help when the right moment comes. At least... I hope he will._

Panic flared at the thought. Would Legolas be able to help? He was not sure how long the orcs had remained in their camp after he had lost consciousness. What if they had hurt Legolas further? What if he was unable to- a sudden though struck him.

_They left me behind. They would not have done that, unless they thought I was dead. But if... Oh Valar! Legolas must think I'm dead as well!_

His thoughts whirled madly. _He_ had known he was not dead. It had not occurred to him before that his friend could not possibly have had any way of knowing that. He feared what it might do to Legolas, caught as he was in an already nearly hopeless situation, to believe he had just seen his best friend killed.

_Eru, please, don't let him despair. Please help him hold on._

Aragorn pressed on as quickly as he was able. He had to get to Legolas as soon as possible; not only to rescue him, but to reassure him that he had not lost his best friend. Not yet, at any rate, and not as long as he had any say in the matter.

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Legolas' shoulders sagged slightly in weariness. He made no move to draw attention to himself, allowing the orcs surrounding him to temporarily forget his presence. To all outward appearances he was too tired and grief-stricken to cause any trouble.

But the orcs did not know Legolas well, for they missed the surreptitious glances which he threw around him, and the slight tenseness of his body which bespoke his readiness to act the moment he saw his opportunity.

At this very moment, he was beginning to think that that opportunity was now. They had come to the river and, finding the cliffs too steep and the river too deep to manage here, had sent scouts in both directions to find a better place to cross. Now the remaining orcs were restless. They were bored with waiting, and growing quarrelsome.

Once again he looked around. None of the orcs were paying any attention to their unresisting captive. In fact, the orc that was supposed to be restraining him had all but dropped the rope attached to his bindings.

It was time. Jerking away, Legolas backed up swiftly, then turned to run before any of the orcs were close enough to grab him. It was then that he saw the weak point of his plan. Behind him were his captors; before him was a cliff. Racing back through the entire camp was not an option, and neither was jumping over the cliff. He was oblivious to the angry shouts, the orcs grabbing at him, the shouted orders. Turning to the left, he ran along the edge of the cliff, hoping to make it to the safety of the woods before the orcs could cut him off.

But it was too late - they were already in front of him. Spinning around, he saw that they had not quite closed off that direction. He ran.

He never even saw the arrow coming. There was the twang of a bow, and then he found himself involuntarily gasping, staggering backwards towards the edge of the cliff. The sudden onrush of pain was disorienting, and he stumbled, nearly falling to his knees. Through bleary, unfocused eyes he saw the orcs swarming forward, and with a great effort, managed to pull himself back upright.

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Wearily, Aragorn sank to his knees. The positive outlook he'd held as he'd started out on this near-impossible mission was becoming bleaker with each passing moment.

He shivered as a cool, rain-freshened breeze tauntingly blew against his back. Everything ached. He passed a hand over his eyes as a bout of light-headedness washed over him. Reaching up, he tightened the bandage around his shoulder. He was loosing too much blood. As a healer he should have known better than to put so much stress on his injured body. Pushing himself to walk so far, so quickly, was not the most brilliant thing he'd done in his life. He should have known the consequences. He should have known how futile everything was in his useless, weakened state.

But each time he was tempted to give up, the thought of Legolas, still in the hands of the orcs, would force him to take yet another step. Each time he was tempted to sink to the ground and never rise again, he would remember. Then he could have hit himself for his selfishness. How could he have even considered giving up as an option? Legolas would never abandon him—how could he fail his friend now?

And once more the persisting thought brought his bowed form upright with determination. If it had not restored his energy yet, it certainly made him alert as he attempted to bring his breathing under control.

The wind swayed the branches of the tree above him, shaking loose the clinging remnants of the last rain-fall, and drenching his partially-dried clothes anew. Just as he felt a groan of frustration building in his throat, he heard the noises. Never, in all his life, had he ever felt such relief to hear the gruff voices of orcs. If Elladan and Elrohir could have seen him now, he realized as an ironic smile spread over his face, they would have thought he'd gone crazy. And indeed, he would have been inclined to agree with them. If his actions didn't qualify as insane... Well, there was no time to consider whether he was out of his mind or not. From the sound of it, the orcs were angry. That never boded well for prisoners.

Scrambling to his feet, he limped forward, wincing each time his left leg touched the ground, but otherwise ignoring the pain this last effort was causing. His legs were growing shaky, but the sound of orcs, ever growing louder, drew him on.

Finally, after having taken twenty more steps then he thought he could take, he caught his first sight of the orcs. Ducking behind a tree-trunk, he wasted no time threading his was through the trees and brush that separated him from his goal. He struggled to quiet his heavy breathing as he came close enough to hear what they were saying. However he didn't listen to their harsh voices as they fought among themselves. His eyes were glued to a weary form, shoulders slumped, standing on the fringe of the group.

Legolas.

A hot rush of anger flooded him, and his common sense only just barely kept him from recklessly dashing forward. He had to think calmly, rationally, and assess the situation before doing anything that they'd both regret later. Leaning heavily against a tree, he watched the orcs through the underbrush, refusing to consider how ridiculously impossible the whole situation was.

He'd only just forced his eyes off of Legolas to better assess the orcs, when they were jerked back to the elf. There was a change in his friend, although the orcs were too preoccupied and distracted with their own problems to notice. Before Aragorn could comprehend what was happening, Legolas had pulled free from his captors' hold. The ensuing scuffle blocked his view of Legolas, as orcs crowded forward.

Afterwards, Aragorn could never clearly recall how it all happened. He only vaguely remembered seeing Legolas one last time, backed up against the edge of the cliff. He saw the arrow protruding from his left shoulder, he saw his foot sliding backwards in the slippery mud―and then he was gone.

* * *

**Well, t'would appear the Ranger's not quite dead yet. The elf, on the other hand… -eg-**

**Reveiwer responses:**

**Erulasse: **LOL, mellon-nin, first to review _again_! -searches in drawers- Now I know I put that gold star somewhere around here... Aha! Here ya go! I'm going to run out of these things if you keep up this wonderful record : ) Hmm… -looks Saruman over- I don't know…You sure everyone wants him? LOL! Calm down, it takes a great deal more than a beating and a dagger to stop Aragorn. I thought you knew me better – I wouldn't kill him off…in the second chapter -eg- Well, good luck hunting down those orcs ; ) Thank you so much for the review! I hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**elvingirl3737:** ROTFL! Ever since you used the word "womping" in "The Wrong One" I've used it to describe Aragorn-angst : D Love that word.. LOL! Yes, that was beginning to sound a tad like a bad country song… Hmm, try, "Reviewing is painless, reviewing is painless, reviewing is painless…." -g- Thank you so much for the review! I hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**sielge:** Hi! I'm so glad to hear from you again : ) LOL, well, the ranger's still holding on, as you can see. Thank you so much for the review! I hope the update was soon enough : )

**HarryEstel: **Yes, yes, it is very intense. Hehee, well don't say I didn't warn you ; ) -looks innocent- Honestly, we just about had to flip a coin to see who _had _to write the last chapter! -pouts- You don't believe me : P LOL. No, of course he isn't dead (you're probably right: due to the orcs lack of knowledge concerning human antomy, LOL)! As I was telling another reviewer, we'd never kill him off…in the second chapter -eg- Thank you so much for the review! I hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**jacquelinestel: **LOL! Estel chorus: "I hate you." That was great : ) Oh, and the whole thing about Orly too! -snort- So Legolas needs singing lessons? –giggles- I'm sure he does have quite an extensive collection of fan jewelry, though! Ah, so the elf's appropriated one of your drawers? I say you kill him for that! Eh, wait, I've already done that, haven't I… Heh, oh well. – shrugs- Thanks for the review!

**goddesscal: **Oh thank you SO much! I'm really, really glad to hear you didn't think it was too melodramatic : D Aww, and we even managed to get you on the verge of crying… LOL, sorry about the cliffy. It's not like we _enjoy _making our readers suffer… -eg- Heh, as you can see, there's no keeping that ranger dead for long. Thank you again: your review was a wonderful encouragement to both of us : ) Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

**crazyAZN kid: **LOL, well, Imbecamiel and I have been on the receiving end too: we know just how much it can mean to know that an author will update when she/he says, so we always try our hardest to. Of course, as you can see, as much as we hate it, it doesn't _always_ work out that way : b Hmm…I see what you mean about Aragorn's death. Cami actually wrote that part (hehee, shift the blame….J/K). It's rather hard to explain our feelings about it. I guess Cami _wanted_ his death to almost seem…well, sort of casual. I think the off-hand style kind of highlights the callousness of the orcs, and helps you feel Legolas' shock. Still, I do see your point. Well, I think we both were a little hesitant to add any more theatric "slow-motion" type stuff into this chapter – it felt a little over melodramatic as it was (did you get that sense at all? This story is just so swamped with emotion.). ROTFL! Now _that's _the kind of threat we fanfic authors like to hear! Dramatic and creative : D You had us both laughing so hard. I love it when reviewers overreact – it's so much fun, LOL. Thank you so much for the review!

**Evergreene:** LOL, nope, he's not _quite _as dead as he seems. Thank you so much for your review! I hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**Ainu Laire: **A butter knife, eh? -backs away- Okay, okay, I believe you! -eyes butter knife- Now…put that thing down. That's a good reviewer… LOL, your review had us both laughing so hard! Yes, Aragorn, it's always wise to humor the insane fans ; )Thank you _so_ much. Hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**Patty: **Hello again! LOL, I'm afraid we only have time for weekly updates - don't you go and die of suspense, though! -g- Glad you're enjoying the angst so much. Thank you so much for the review – it means so much to us!

**RMC: -**g- Glad you're enjoying the Elf-angst so much. As you can see, the ranger just can't stay dead, LOL. Oh, thank you so much for the review! I'm really glad you like it : ) Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

**Tinorial Peredhil: **-laughing hysterically- Oh mellon-nin...how can you be so consistently funny? Cami and I were laughing SO hard at your review! Btw, Cami thanks you for saving her from a particularly bad panic-attack : ) Hehee, hope Guard had fun playing tag with the orcs! LOL, so NOW who's "gone" mellon-nin? -eg- I never did like Legolas _quite _as much as Aragorn... He always has to steal all the lovely angst from my dear ranger - you won't miss him so very much, will you? -evil laughter- You know, I'm becoming quite attached to Moldy... -UR screaming in background- Ah yes, and you too dear UR...how could I forget you? -rolls eyes- UR: UPDATE _PLEASE_! Me: -covers ears- Now what _did _Moldy tell him to make his so...insistent? -huggles UR- But you _are _cute! ROTFL! That whole part with Melkor was HILLARIOUS! "Guard: Everywhere you go...Damage, damage, damage..." Thank you so much for the wonderful review, mellon-nin! Hope you liked the chapter : )

**annika: **LOL, as you can see, it's hard to kill that ranger. Besides...I never have the heart to seriously try ; ) Regrettably, no, this is not the sequel to TWO yet. I'd hoped to get it done more quickly, but haven't finished it quite as soon as I'd anticipated. My sister and I just got the idea for this story and, since it came together so quickly, decided to give it a go first. Hopefully I'll finish up the sequel soon.-g- I'm _so _glad you're enjoying it. Thank you for the review! Hope you enjoyed this chapter : )

**viggomaniac**: Oh yes that is a _very_ good use for orcs...and you're right, it's probably the only one. -g- All the reviewers seem quite confident that I wouldn't kill Aragorn... -naively- Now why on earth would they think that? -gasp-The Dark Side? Me? No way am I joining with Vader! Though, as far as bad guys go, I must admit he's pretty cool... Okay, I agree, putting Aragorn through death by orc would have been pretty cruel...But come on, killing off _Legolas_ does _not _make me a villain! -looks nervously at screaming fans-LOL. Well, I think I'll save you an orc-hunting trip around ME. I'd never have the heart to do in the ranger ; ) LOL, oh do I ever know what you mean about reading. When I was younger, my sister and my mom conspired against me until I finally broke-down and read a series of books. Obviously, I was thenceforth obsessed. Imbecamiel and I hardly ever fight...but when we do, you'd be pretty safe betting a book is involved ; ) Anyways, suffice it to say, I'm enjoying your choice in fanfic very much (lots of the C2 stories end up on my fav. list). Thanks so much for the insightful review! Yes, insightful. Honestly, do you think I'd be facetious about something like that? Um, on second though, don't answer that… -g- Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

**Sorry if some of the responses seem a bit disjointed and short. I'm afraid I'm really out of time here : P**

**Nefhiriel & Imbecamiel**


	4. Chpater 4

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**He's Gone**

By Nefhiriel & Imbecamiel

**Rating:** T (PG-13)

**Genres: **Action/Adventure/Angst

**A/N: **We both have horrible colds, and nothing interesting to say. Oh, other than the fact that our beta wasn't able to go over this chapter, so I really, really, hope that there aren't too many horrible mistakes. Right then, on with the chapter.

**_For disclaimer and notes see chapter one. Reviewer responses at bottom of chapter._**

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* * *

**Chapter 4**

Though he was screaming inwardly, Aragorn's body followed instincts born of long habit, keeping his steps silent and his movements well screened by bushes as he ran to the cliff edge. Instinct also stopped him before he could follow his friend, tumbling over the edge - barely. He shouted Legolas' name, his eyes searching the water for any sign that he could possibly be alive.

Fortunately for him, the orcs were too involved in the brawl that had broken out when Legolas fell to hear his hoarse shout. At the moment, they were so absorbed by their own shouting that they might not have noticed if a hill troll had charged past at that moment. Aragorn, however, was just as oblivious to their actions as they were to his.

The morning sun was just appearing over the horizon, providing barely enough light to see the bottom of the canyon. He could not find the slightest trace of his friend. Strider ran downstream, so set on watching the river that he often missed obstacles in his path. Tripping, falling, rising again, he went on, oblivious to everything but the icy water that was stealing away the only thing in the world that mattered to him at that moment.

The further he went without catching sight of Legolas, the more fear drove its way into his heart. When he saw the rock-strewn rapids below him, despair began to overwhelm him. As much as he desperately wanted to hold on to the hope, however remote, that his friend might still be alive, he knew that no-one, not even an elf, could survive going through that long stretch of rapids, not in the condition Legolas had been in. And that was even assuming that the arrow had not killed him instantly. In truth, Aragorn hoped that the arrow had killed Legolas quickly. He hated to think of his last moments being filled with such terror.

Finally, he fell to the his knees and couldn't drive himself back to his feet. His mind was numb. This wasn't supposed to happen, not when he had finally caught up with him, not when rescue had been so close. After all that had happened these past few days, it was just too much.

As the reality of it sank in, his grief broke over him, and he sobbed. He had been to late, too weak to make a difference. He cried until his exhaustion overcame him. His last waking thought was _I didn't even get to tell him that I'm still alive.  
_  
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The shock of landing in the icy water knocked all the breath out of him; yet at the same time, it seemed to shake his mind somewhat out of the stunned, frozen state it had been in since he had been shot. As he gasped to regain his breath, Legolas struggled to keep his had above water.

Almost immediately, he discovered that his left arm would be worse than useless. The slightest attempt to move it threatened to make him black out. His cry half choked with water, he pressed his left arm to his chest as he kicked hard and used his right to paddle.

Shaking his wet hair out of his eyes, he looked around, trying to find some place he could climb out of the water to gather his strength and figure out the best way to safety, but there was no place. As Aragorn had suspected, the river was indeed _very_ swollen. Whatever banks there might have been,  
were far underwater, the cliffs now rising straight up from the waves. No place to rest, then, and the icy water was sapping his strength.

_At least,_ he thought with some detachment, _the cold water may slow the bleeding._ Or would it? Would the water make things better, or worse? He was becoming confused, his thoughts harder and harder to focus. Why was he even fighting so hard? What was the point? Why... His right hand brushed against something hard, and he reflexively grabbed on to it.

Dragging himself half on top of the log, Legolas lay there panting. Clinging to a branch for his very life, Legolas remembered. Remembered why it was so important that he keep fighting. Aragorn. His best friend was dead, yes, but he would not leave his body to be eaten by wolves, or to rot, with no sign to mark where the body of a great man lay. And he could not leave his friend's family to be forever uncertain of what had happened to him. Yes, he would keep on fighting, living, however much it hurt.

Raising his head, Legolas looked around again for a place to get out of the river. Still nothing, but as he looked ahead, what he did see caused his breath to catch. White water. Legolas groaned.

_As if the whole situation wasn't bad enough. Did we really have to add rocks into the equation now?  
_  
He gripped the branch until his knuckles turned white, readying himself for the struggle ahead. What more could he do? He did not know which channels might be safest. Even if he had, he didn't have the strength to do much about it.

Another moment, and he was swept into the swirling, foaming water. He struggled to hold on to the log as currents tossed him back and forth, as if the river itself were consciously trying to tear him away from it.

As he was slammed forward into the log, the shaft of the arrow caught on it, snapping. Opening his mouth to cry out, he choked on a mouthful of water. Burning pulses of agony pounded in his shoulder. It was growing increasingly difficult to maintain his grip, both on the log, and on consciousness, though he was trying hard to do both. He knew well that should he lose the log, or give in to the darkness that was trying to pull him away from painful awareness, his chances of surviving would quickly plummet from slim, to nothing.

Just then, the log rammed full-force into one of the many rocks jutting out of the water. Thrown forcefully away, Legolas barely had time to gasp in a breath of air before he was sucked under the water. As he was rushed along under the surface, he was slammed against several rocks. Bright flashes of light flickered before his eyes, and his body screamed its need for air to his increasingly unresponsive mind.

Finally, the churning water allowed his head to break the surface for a few seconds. He sucked the fresh air in greedily before being driven under again.

The currents had pulled him over to one side of the river, and now it threw him against the cliff wall, scraping his already abused back along the rough stone. Once more he was thrown against it, and as he was pulled towards the wall a third time, he stiffened, dreading the impending impact. But it never  
came.

From Legolas' rather confused perspective, it seemed that he was sucked straight through the wall. But of course, that was ridiculous. Stone walls didn't simply disappear, or become soft at his convenience.

_Or do they now? Maybe nature has finally decided to revise some of its more inconvenient laws. Or perhaps the Valar have decided to have some mercy on me.  
_  
The combination of overwhelming pain and lack of oxygen was turning his thoughts to rather illogical, disjointed paths. Though, indeed, his last idea was not so very far off. The Valar had truly had mercy. Ironically enough for Legolas, that mercy came in the form of a small cave.

Feeling solid ground under himself at last, Legolas weakly dragged himself out of the water, then simply lay there limply, coughing and gasping. He gazed at his surroundings dully, barely grasping the significance of the nearly absolute blackness surrounding him.

_A cave. How wonderful._ And then he gave in to his exhaustion at last, and passed out.

* * *

**Reviewer responses:**

**HarryEstel**Yes, I'm afraid, for dramatic effect, we just _had _to take advantage of the situation and dump Legolas off the cliff, LOL. As for getting things straightened out…well, you're right, that might take a bit of time ; ) Thank you so much for the review, mellon-nin! Hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**Ainu Laire**ROTFL! I got a few funny visuals of you sitting in the PP with a laptop… Heh, yup, you were right: Aragorn was…sleeping…er…unconscious (close enough -g-). He's definitely too cool to die. And right again! -hands award- Of course the stubborn elf can't die! LOL. Glad you liked the part about the rain. I giggle a little myself every time I think about him sitting in a mud puddle. -sigh- Poor ranger, I'm so cruel to him, and then I laugh at his misery… Yup, you sure have to hand it to the guy, he's defiantly a tough one! Maybe it's a tad unrealistic that he'd still be able to walk (much less proceed coherently) after all he's been through. Still, you never can underestimate the power of their friendship (and the ranger's pig-headedness, LOL). They don't have cappuccino's? What kind of a restaurant is this, and how on earth do they expect to compete with Starbucks? LOL. Oh…all this talk of coffee is giving me a craving for a good latte : P Thank you so much for the review! Hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**Evergreene**LOL, hey, that's not a bad idea: kill off a few orcs! Hmm…but who'd want to read orc-angst? Heh, yeah, I laugh at the poor ranger too, even while I feel terribly sorry for him (got to just love their "luck", LOL). Well, Legolas _did _reappear in this chapter – but definitely not unhurt. -g- Thanks so much for the review (I'm really glad you're liking it)! Hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**sielge: **I know, I know, that truly was evil of us to do… And we are _so _sorry -looks completely unrepentant- As for what they're going to do now… I'm afraid I'm going to have to continue in the tradition of all good authors and say "Wait and see" : ) Hope you like the new chapter!

**polingly**Don't apologize, mellon-nín. Life (and "dear" Neville) can be VERY frustrating – and boy do I know it. A person can only do half a million things a week -huggles- Torture the characters? No way! It's the readers I enjoy making squirm, LOL. I'm finding that killing (or faking the death) of characters is quite effective. Heh, I really had a lot of fun writing that scene with Aragorn. Glad you liked it. Hmm…well, I'm not 100 sure how long this is going to be (it's the only thing I've ever tried to post without being completely prepared -gulp-). Imbecamiel and I approximate only about ten chapters. Our trip went really, really well. Very relaxing. Of course, after a few days of being back, I feel like I need another one already…LOL. Thanks so much for the review, mellon-nín! You know how much it means to both of us : ) (btw…Imbecamiel's been so nervous during this…I believe we won over a new member! –SNWCG group hug-)(quick note from Imbecamiel: I really am trying to write back to you about your story! Unfortunately, in addition to my cold and all sorts of stuff to catch up on from vacation, the cord to my laptop just broke… -sigh- THIS IS INFURIATING!)

**goddesscal: **LOL, yes, falling of the cliff is usually Aragorn's "job" (very observant!). I guess we just decided to stir things up a bit ; ) Yup, it's the elf's turn now -eg- Hehee, not only is it amazing the trouble those two get when they encounter orcs – it's amazing how _often _they encounter them. They're guaranteed orc magnets/bait, LOL. Ah, so have you seen Kingdom of Heaven now? I don't usually go to see R rated movies, but since it's mostly for violence (plus, Orlando is in it, and it happens to be about my favorite time period…), I just had to see it : ) It was pretty good, too. I'm glad it came so opportunely to tide you over the cliffy ; )

**crazyAZN kid: **Yes, once again I do see what you mean… Aragorn's miraculous survival wasn't very well explained : P I know it's not terribly convincing (but could have been with more work), and takes a little leap of imagination in order for it to work. -sigh- Sorry it came out so cliché and vague : P Some of the logic in the beginning has been sort of…cut short. Aragorn's "death" seems to have been our bane. Oh well, I suppose I can always just blame that part on Imbecamiel… One of the many benefits of co-authorship (and a very forgiving sister) –g- Anyways, I can only hope that once the plot picks up (now that the melodrama is over) things will start looking a little more believable. Btw, beautiful comparison to Gandalf and the way Tolkien did it. One of the things I love most about Tolkien (and C.S. Lewis too) is the allegorical/symbolic elements of their stories. Yes, my stories on here are mostly for fun – but I never want to loose a chance to better myself in my writing/plot. Thanks so much for the constructive criticism (calm, rational tips are few and far between nowadays)! And thanks for the review. Hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**Slayer3**LOL, I take it you don't relish the though of Legolas dying? -g- Well, fortunantly for you, I couldn't quite bring myself to do it either… Thank you very much for reviewing – it means so much to both of us! Hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**spazzyrisu: **-blushes- Wow, thank you so much! I'm glad you think we write well. We worked hard on it, so it's really, really encouraging to hear you say that. Thanks so much for the review – it means a lot to both of us! Hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**jacquelinestel**ROTFL! An Estelagon…Heh, that was great. I have to agree with you though, geometry―and math in general―is the root of all evil. –shudders- Hate that stuff. Hmm, Estel and Legolas certainly do have a not-so-hidden cruel streak, don't they? LOL, so Aragorn finally got a case for Narsil? Good for him -g- Eating the p-photo album! I mean, Cami's been know to enjoy snacking on paper, but even she's never tried to eat a photo album… Hehe, hope you liked the new chappie!

**Gods-girl2004: **Ah, that's all right, mellon-nín – don't feel ashamed, LOL. –shocked- Cruel? Us? -naively- I really just don't understand! Why does everyone keep saying that? Heh, anyways… I'm feeling pretty "out of it" too. Errhos hugged me one too many times―while he had a cold. –sigh- But I'm almost over it now… I hope : P Well, thanks so much for the review, mellon-nín! Hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**Tinorial Peredhil: **ROTFL! I was giggling uncontrollably (as always) all the way through your review, mellon-nín… Heh, it would appear that all your collected personalities are having conflicts. My, but they are getting to be quite a collection, too! And all so loveable -huggles characters- Never―and I repeat NEVER―say you're sorry for commenting on nearly every line. I LOVE it! I don't think there's anything in the world quite so satisfactory to an author than to have her/his story commented on by a friend -g- Or in my case _friends_. -sighs contentedly- Yes, there's nothing like having the whole crew here to tell me what they think…And you're thinking about bringing LR, UR's brother, along too? Heh, wouldn't that be lovely: TWO little people screaming reminders at me : P Anyways, I had a ton of fun seeing how well Moldy, Guard, and UR are getting along. Be sure to send me a couple of pictures once you get to that photo-shoot : ) "Es-cop-ee" : D hehee, I loved that part in Finding Nemo : ) Well, I think this story will be about ten chapters long…Will they survive? Shame on you, you know I never give away any spoilers! Now chapter nine is all about their funerals, but ten will be a nice little epilogue, full of fluff, you know, the grieving families and all… LOL. Hehee, let's see, what was the funniest visual of this review… Ah yes, Guard "playing" with Fluffy! LOL. –blows nose- Well, I'm sitting here blowing my brains out, desperately wishing I hadn't hugged my cold-ridden brother so many times…Better go before I say something stupid – I mean REALLY stupid. Thank you so much for the review, mellon-nín, you know how much we both enjoy them. Hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**- Imbecamiel appears out of nowhere- Um, Hi… Since Nef is currently at chiropractor's appointment, I guess I'll just be finishing up the reviews while she's gone. And I've never done this before… - looks nervous-**

**viggomaniac: **Ah yes, things can ALWAYS get worse. Makes me wonder if Murphy was a fanfiction writer… Or maybe just a fanfiction character : ) –giggles- Ah yes, isn't that just the sort of thing we would wind up saying if we met someone like that? Though, of course, Nef doesn't need to actually meet anyone, she says that sort of thing all the time on her own ; ) And I can't seem to remember what the syndrome is called… -sigh- I hate having colds : P Oh man –bangs head on wall- I fear I'm the one to blame for the "loosing"/"losing" problem. I suppose it's too late to claim that I actually DO know the difference? And here it always bugs me so much when other people mix things like that up. LOL, perhaps I should reconsider editing as a possible profession… Thanks for pointing that out, though : ) I'm so happy to hear that you're enjoying the story. Hope you like this chapter! –sits down to write "Editors do NOT mix up loosing and losing" 1000 times-

**SmilingDragonGirl: **Oh dear… I have an impression we need to work on our innocent looks a little more. Seems that for some inexplicable reason people aren't buying it… Could it possibly be the evil grins that keep slipping out? Ah yes, it is usually Aragorn that has the "problem" with cliffs. We just decided that the elf needed to understand better what it felt like ; ) Trying to harm our readers! Whatever would make you say that? –tries to look innocent while smothering evil laughter- Get them out of this mess? Oh, but we- I mean THEY seem to be having so much fun! Um, yeah, right. Only if by "they" I was referring to the orcs. Ah well, I suppose we'll have to get them out sometime. Either that, or kill them off permanently… -eg- Wow, you're not a native English speaker! I would never have guessed that. You write it incredibly well. LOL, FAR better than I'd do if I tried to write in any language other than English. Well, hopefully this update is soon enough for you! –looks nervously at sharp, pointy object- Nef did warn me that reviewers could be dangerous…

**And I still haven't got anything interesting to say… Ah well, see you all next Friday : )**

**-Imbecamiel disappears back into the oblivion of lurkerdom-**


	5. Chapter 5

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**He's Gone**

By Nefhiriel & Imbecamiel

**Rating:** T (PG-13)

**Genres: **Action/Adventure/Angst

**A/N: **Whee! I'm in such a… weird mood. Hehe, our family has been trying to sell our house for nearly nine months now, and it's been incredibly frustrating. Now we think we may actually have at least two possible buyers, and we've both been so relieved! Of course, in our case, relief apparently has decided to manifest itself in the form of near-hysterical laugher, absolutely weird comments out of the blue (you should have heard our attempt at seriously discussing a story last night…), and occasionally collapsing in exhaustion… Hopefully the reviewer responses will manage to be at least somewhat coherent ; )

So here we are with chapter five...a little longer than the last one, which should make people happy : )

**_For disclaimer and notes see chapter one. Reviewer responses at bottom of chapter._**

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Chapter 5

Legolas woke to darkness. For a brief moment, he vaguely wondered if he could have gone blind. It couldn't possibly still be night, could it?

Then all the memories of the night before - or, rather, early this morning, he corrected - came back to him.

_The cave. Right. _

Moaning at the pain that was now reawakening along with his mind, Legolas pushed himself up to lean his good shoulder against the cool wall behind him. Looking around, Legolas tried to get a better idea of exactly what situation he'd been landed in now.

It was not, he noted, completely dark anymore. So far as he could figure, it must be some time in mid-morning. There was a shaft of sunlight shining down from the roof a short distance to his left. By that light, he could see the whole of the cave from where he sat.

It was indeed, he realized with a familiar echo of claustrophobic panic, a _very_ small cave. Even worse, he could see not the slightest hint of a possible exit except, naturally, the way he had come in.

Deliberately forcing down the trapped, fearful thoughts that clamored for his attention, Legolas forced himself to work through the information he had logically. Even through the thick stone walls, he could hear the river rushing loudly past. Obviously that was not a viable option. He could not count on a second such stroke of good fortune.

_Good fortune! You've been battered, whipped, shot, trapped in a tiny cave, and it's good fortune!_ Legolas silenced the panicky thought. _I'm still alive, and that in itself is good fortune enough._

Thoughts of his own survival immediately brought back sad reminders that his friend had not been so fortunate. However, giving in to his grief now could only worsen the situation, and prevent him from carrying out the last small services he could offer Aragorn. So that, too, must be set aside for the time being.

For all its dangerous panic, the voice _had_ brought up one very good point. He had been shot, and he supposed he ought to at least examine the wound to see how bad the damage was. Not that he could actually do that much about it, seeing as he didn't have even so much as a shirt or cloak, much  
less bandages or medical supplies of any kind. Still, it was just as well to know what he was dealing with.

He swallowed hard when he looked at the wound. It was indeed quite bad, although, on closer examination, it did not appear to be immediately life-threatening. The close proximity to his heart drove home yet again just how lucky he was to be alive. He sighed at the several inches of arrow shaft still protruding from his shoulder. To attempt removing it himself with no way to properly care for the wound would do far more harm than good. At least the bleeding had stopped now.

After washing it and his other wounds by splashing water from the river on them, he decided that there wasn't really anything else he could do, and sat back again to consider his options.

With frustration - but not panic, he absolutely refused to panic - he realized that there didn't seem to be any real options to consider. The walls were just as solid and unhelpful as the last time he had examined them, and the river still rushed past as loudly as ever.

He let his head fall back against the wall with a soft thud, and stared up at the stone roof of the cave, as if seeking inspiration from the cracks in the ceiling.

_The roof... Of course!_ Inwardly cursing himself for the slowness of his mind, Legolas struggled to his feet. _Idiot! I must have hit my head on the way down - there's no other possible excuse. How could I be so stupid!  
_  
Making his way over to the place where the light was shining in, he peered upwards, squinting at the brightness of the light. His hopes were confirmed. The hole was large enough for him to fit through, although the climb would be a very difficult one. The shaft rose nearly vertically. Besides that, the opening  
was a couple of feet away from the wall and too high for him to reach from the floor, so there was the additional problem of getting to it in the first place...

Pressing his lips together in a thin line, Legolas considered the wall. There were certainly plenty of cracks for hand and toe-holds. Towards the top, there were even some fairly thick roots, which had worked their way down through the cracks in the stone. The greatest obstacle was trying to do it with only one working arm.

Still, unless he wanted to wait until the level of the river went down, and risk that way, there was no other way out of here. So, pressing his left arm against his chest, he resolutely tackled the wall.

Even despite his handicap, Legolas made fairly swift progress. When he reached the top, he found a sturdy root to hold on to and twisted part-way around to get a closer look at the opening, now only a couple of feet away from him. It was infuriating to be so close that he could have reached out and touched it, and yet, with all the challenges still ahead, really very little closer than he had been back down on the ground.

_Even so... that shaft cannot be very much more than a yard long. There has to be a way.  
_  
There did appear to be a sort of ledge on the near side of the shaft. If he could grab on to that... Then what? The best way to climb up would be to press his back against one side, and his hands and knees against the other. Even normally, pulling himself far enough up to get into such a position would be quite an athletic feat, even for an elf. He knew that, uninjured, he could manage it, but could he do it now?

_Alright, Legolas, time to get moving. Hanging here wondering if I can do it won't accomplish anything. The only way to find out is to go ahead and try it.  
_  
Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to grasp the root firmly with his left hand. Then he reached out with his right and grabbed hold of the ledge. With a last deep breath, he let go of the root, and began struggling to pull himself upward into the shaft. He tried to bring his left hand up to help, but the pain of attempting to raise the arm above his head nearly made him loose his grip on the ledge, so he was forced to give that idea up. Legolas focused his entire mind and body on pulling himself upward, ignoring all thoughts of pain, exhaustion, or worry, everything but getting into the shaft. Sweat beaded on his forehead and his arm began to tremble under the strain, but still he kept on.

He was succeeding. Slowly, painfully, he drew himself upward.

And then he heard it. First came the soft cracking sound, amplified in the silent, echoing cave. In the next second, Legolas felt the rocks under his hand shifting under his weight. Before he had time even to truly register what was happening, much less react, he was falling.

He landed hard on his back, pain roaring through his entire body as the wind was knocked out of him. As he tried to remember how to breathe again, he was certain every bone in his body must have been broken. After some time, his breathing returned to more normal rhythms, and he was able to assess his injuries in a more reasonable light.

All-in-all, he seemed to have got off surprisingly lightly. Other than a myriad of bruises, which hardly mattered, as knocked-about as he already was, and the white-hot fire burning his back, which had been scraped open again when he had landed, he didn't really appear to have acquired any injuries worth noting. His left shoulder was complaining with a vengeance, of course, but that was only to be expected. At any rate, he could hardly spend the rest of the day just lying there, so he decided to get up again. That, as it turned out was a big mistake.

The moment he gained his feet, he fell back down again with a sharp cry. All right, so obviously there were other injuries. His right ankle had been twisted sharply when he'd fallen. He hadn't noticed it specifically in the overwhelming pain at the time, but he remembered it clearly now.

Tentatively examining it, Legolas was relieved to discover that it was only sprained, not actually broken.

_The twins will never let us hear the end of this, both of us managing to sprain an ankle on the same hunting trip...  
_  
And then his heart contracted as tears sprang to his eyes. The twins would never have another opportunity to tease Estel about anything now. How many times did he have to tell himself that he could not take time for his grief now? Yet still, the slightest thing would remind him again of his friend, and the hollow, empty ache in his heart would turn into a crashing tidal wave of grief and pain.

A good part of him simply wished to lie down here now and give up, to escape this world and all the suffering that life inflicted. As an elf, he knew that he did have that option: to just choose to let his grief overtake him and release his hold on life. But he knew that was not truly an option. Angrily blinking the tears away, he tried to focus his mind again.

_Alright, I obviously can't try that way again, not with a twisted ankle. So, I suppose that leaves me right back where I started - thinking._ Scooting back against the wall, Legolas began yet again examining his surroundings and trying to find a way out of the impossible puzzle that the Valar had set him.

His gaze caught on a pile of driftwood of various sizes. He had dismissed as unimportant earlier, when he had simply been looking for an exit. Well, he had found a way out, the only problem was that he couldn't reach it. To be sure, that was quite an "only problem" to have, but now the beginnings of a vague idea were tugging at the edges of his consciousness.

He rose slowly and, leaning against the wall for support, made his way over to the pile. He had nothing which could even be used as a makeshift rope, which was definitely a difficulty, but still... He was certain that some solution lay in that pile of driftwood. What exactly that solution was still remained to be seen. He could certainly stack it up underneath the hole, but climbing a pile of smooth, shifting wood was, at best, a rather challenging proposition in his current condition. At worst, it could be positively disastrous.

_With my luck, I'd end up twisting my other ankle. Probably break my right arm as well, just to even things out.  
_  
So, that idea was out. He scanned the wood, shifting aside various pieces and staring at them as if expecting some incredible revelation. And then, it struck. Or at least, he hoped it had, as he hurriedly shoved aside smaller pieces to reveal one very long piece near the bottom. Legolas ran his hand over it, barely daring to hope that it would work.

The piece was very long, certainly longer than he was tall, and had the remains of what were once branches sticking out at irregular intervals all along its length. He began to awkwardly drag it over to the shaft, sending up fervent prayers to the Valar all the while. It took some doing, but he finally managed to first get it over, and then raise it up until one end was wedged firmly in a crack in the side of the shaft.

Apparently the Valar were smiling on his prayers - either that, or they were suffering a belated sense of remorse for landing him in such a situation - for the small tree was just the right height.

After dragging several good sized rocks over to hold the bottom of the sapling more securely, Legolas surveyed the result with satisfaction. It was doubtful whether such a flimsy ladder would have held a human's weight, but for an elf it should be quite sufficient. If he could get his leg to cooperate well enough that he didn't end up taking the shortcut to the ground, that is.

He was forced to move rather more slowly than his pride liked for what should normally have been a simple climb, and to use his right leg far more than it liked; however, he did manage to make it to the top without serious mishap. Then came the truly hard part. Hard, in this case, not because of technical difficulties, but rather because of the pain involved.

Pressing his aching back against the rough stone on one side of the shaft, he brought his legs up to push against the opposite side. By alternately inching his back and knees upward, he was able to gradually ascend through the shaft. It was no very great distance to the surface, but to him it felt like miles. Progress was slow and painful. He tried to favor his right leg as much as possible by taking most of the pressure with his left, but there was very little he could do to relieve his back.

When he at last reached the surface, he was completely exhausted. His exit was more a matter of dragging himself out to flop down on the ground than of actually climbing out, but he was far beyond caring. After a few minutes, he pushed himself into a sitting position to get a good look at the place where he'd ended up.

With relief, he found that he'd come out on the same side of the river he had fallen in on. It had not occurred to him before that, after all he'd been through to get this far, he might still have to cross the river to get back to Rivendell.

Upon further examination of surrounding landmarks, he discovered that he had been washed into the cave very near to the place the orcs had camped... Could it really have been only yesterday? It seemed as if it must have been years since... But such thoughts were straying far too close to dangerous territory.

Legolas decided that, whatever his body thought, it was high time for him to move on. It had already taken him far too long to find a way out of the cave. He gained his feet - amazingly on the first try - and limped toward the site of the camp.

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When Aragorn woke, hours later, he was barely more refreshed than he had been when he'd fallen asleep. Everything hurt fiercely, and he could feel the beginnings of what would very soon be a full-blown fever wrapping itself around him. Thinking about anything but his overwhelming sorrow was like wading through molasses.

He stood unsteadily, looking about, for all the world like a lost little boy. Somehow he felt he should keep moving, go somewhere, but he couldn't make his mind cooperate long enough to tell him where, or why, for that matter.

Once again, instinct came to his rescue, heading him towards Rivendell. He had some vague idea of following the river as long as it ran in that direction, to see if his friend's... body might have washed ashore. But really, he didn't know how he would get down to it if it had. He no longer held any real hope that Legolas might be alive. No, right now there was room in his mind for only two ideas: Legolas was dead, and he had to get... where?... Ah yes, home... that was it. So he set off toward Rivendell.

**

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Reviewer responses:**

**Evergreene: **LOL, yup, those two poor guys… But hey, at least they're not dead! Hehee, glad you liked it. Yeah, I definitely wish that did work, I could avoid a lot of bruises that way -g- Thank you so much for the review! Hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**Ainu Laire: **Hehee, every time I try and picture you sitting there typing… -cracks up- Especially funny since we're reading LOTR for school (ah, the joys of being homeschooled…) and the chapter for today is "At the Sign of the Prancing Pony". –sighs happily- Aw…I'm glad you like the award. –holds up fake-looking gold star- I'd give these things away to more people (virtual prizes are free!), but unfortunately I'm afraid a few of them might think I've gone off my rocker… -hands star- But you're not one of those kind of people: you _know _I fell off that rocker a loooong time ago, right? Oh dear, you got the ranger… -hands ice pack- You may want try this when he comes too. If _he_ doesn't get you, the twins sure will when they see the size of that lump (and somehow I get the feeling they wouldn't believe you if you told them he got it while you were putting him to sleep…). Hmm, maybe you can just hope the Ranger's got a bit of amnesia when he wakes up? ROTFL! What you said about chocolate reminds me so much of Imbecamiel! Most people just laugh when she says she's addicted to chocolate, but if she doesn't get any for a while, she actually starts getting headaches. I guess it's the caffeine, LOL. Anyways…Thank you so much for the hilarious review, mellon-nín! Hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**HarryEstel: **Ah yes…the irony of Legolas' situation really is made complete when he gets "rescued" by a cave… Heh, the poor guys. I'm glad you're enjoying the angst, though -g- Thank you so much for the review, mellon-nín! Hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**Slayer3: **Hehee, yup, poor Leggy, cave to the rescue! Neither of them are doing too well just now : P LOL. Thank you so much for the review – it means so much to both of us! Hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**crazyAZN kid: **Oh I know! Even though they do manage to get into horribly tough spots…you can't help but laugh at the irony of some of their situations. ROTFL! That little skit was sooo funny! No, really, it made me laugh so hard! -cracks up- That was great… -sighs contentedly- I seem to have been blessed with a exceptional amount of reviewers with good senses of humor. There's hardly a review I receive that I can keep a straight face while reading. Anyways…Thank you SO much for the review! Hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**SmilingDragonGirl: **-cringes at mention of sharp objects and mutters- Too many reviewers are figuring out the…er…persuasive properties of those things… -gulp- Yes, yes, I know… Saving the _elf _with a _cave _was unusually cruel. But it was either that or have him be swept off in the current, never to be heard of again. Imbecamiel and I decided on the cave because…well, because we prefer life. LOL. A ghostwriter? Well, you might say that… Cami is a writer, who is a ghost, so I suppose you might call her a ghostwriter. Ah yes, I love writing Aragorn angst, and have often envied the elves ability to actually die from sorrow. Too bad Númenorians can't do that. -Aragorn sags in relief- But of course, you're right, I'll still find away to squeeze in one of those lovely near-death experiences. I always do. -eg- Ah shucks! It took all this time to find a review who'd tell me the truth – so none of my readers are really falling for those innocent smiles? And I thought I was being SO convincing… -backs away from pointy object wielding reviewer- Heh, who said I thought you ladies and gentlemen were dangerous? –nervous laughter- I'm not afraid of you! LOL. Thank you so much for the review (we're both _very_ relived to hear you didn't find any glaring mistakes)! Hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**polingly**-stares at chapter in disbelief- I can't believe I just did that! Legolas – rescued by a _cave_? Ah, yes, that was Cami's doing… -sighs in relief- I knew I wasn't that cruel -g- Of course, that also means I didn't write the part where he's in the rapids… Ah well, can't have things both ways ; ) –g- Oh yes, you'd think Estel would start catching on by this time. He wasn't dead all those other times, why would he be now? But then, the poor guy's not quite in his right mind at the moment, so I suppose he can be excused ; ) Ah yes, the SNWCG is one of the easiest clubs in the world to get into… Heh, getting nervous in an all-too-easy requirement to meet : P Hope you like the new chapter, gwathel-nin!

**Tinorial Peredhil: **-sighs happily- You know mellon-nín, every time I read another of your reviews I'm so comforted… It seems like years since I gave you guardianship for Guard – and I must admit, I was a little nervous. I didn't even know you all that well. But now, each day, I grow more and more certain that the two of you were meant for each other. Yes, you do so well together! And I have the relief of knowing that he's in good hands. -sighs again and scans review- I never thought he could be _so _happy… Just look at him, he went from being a superfluous background character, never very popular with the other guards, no real friends, to having a staring role in every one of your reviews – and look at all the friends he's made! I don't know if he's thanked you yet, but I would like to express my deep gratitude to you for bringing him into such a loving home. LOL. I have a very fond spot in my heart for the poor, sane little guy… huggles nervous Guard Hehee…loved the part with the Witch King… giggles I can't believed you've managed to ensnare _him _into your reviews too! Ack, got to run! –huggles- Thanks so much for the review, mellon-nín! Hope you, Guard, Moldy - and the rest of the gang – enjoyed the chapter : )

**Erulasse:** A machete? –yawns- Sorry to disappoint you, mellon-nin, but to someone who sleeps with Narsil and Sting hanging over her head, a machete holds very little intimidation power. 2073 viruses! –gapes- And here I think it's bad when I get _one_… I certainly hope your computer's all cleared up now. Us? Nasty! How could you SAY a thing like that! –attempts to look innocent and hurt while covering up evil grin and choking on maniacal laughter- Yup, everyone thinks everyone else is dead now, and Legolas gets to experience the joys of claustrophobia. –sighs happily- It's so wonderful being evil. Hope you like the new chapter!

**Gods-girl2004: **-sniff- Oh…did I give you a virtual cold… Meep, I'm sorry! –hands box of extra-soft Kleenex…with lotion too!- Shelob's cave, huh? Weeeell, good guess mellon-nín. You're off by only a _little _bit, LOL. Too bad, though, he and Will would have had so much fun together. I wouldn't be surprised if there were spiders in the cave…just not that big. –g- ROTFL! So Strider got out of the closet? Meep! I shouldn't be laughing, now we've got to get him back before Elladan sees that big bump on his head. –bites lip- Yikes, I hope you've caught him again… LOL. Thanks so much for the review, mellon-nín. Luv ya! –huggles-

**viggomaniac**LOL, it's a good thing I checked my online review stats one last time before posting…I almost missed yours! I know how it is though, I've become quite a professional at putting things off until the last moment : P Yeah, it really is a cruel situation they're in. Imbecamiel and just loved thinking up all the ironic humor (well, the humor part depends on who you are…LOL) for this story. We couldn't resist putting them in a spot where they _both _thought the other one was dead. Hehee, yeah, school's winding down for us a little early, since we'll probably be moving soon. Hopefully we'll finish posting this before that… Oh yes, I understand how it is: you're absolutely _dying _to read the next chapter of a story, but you simply do not have enough energy to come up with something intelligent to say about it. Reviewing can be even more strenuous than writing, in my opinion. Most of the time, my reviews come out extremely lame -sigh- Thanks for putting in the effort, though, I enjoy your reviews a lot! Hope you enjoyed the chapter : )

**Okay…I'm afraid I have nothing interesting whatsoever to say… Just, we'll update on Fri., as usual – and please review! We love hearing from you all ; )**

**- Nef and Cami **

**Proud members of the SNWCG**


	6. Chapter 6

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**He's Gone**

By Nefhiriel & Imbecamiel

**Rating:** T (PG-13)

**Genres: **Action/Adventure/Angst

**A/N: **-sigh- I apologize in advance for the shortness of this chapter. This is the first story we've ever co-authored, and we've been having a bit of trouble combining things. Anyways…we're really sorry this is such a pitifully small chapter – hope you enjoy it anyways. LOL, actually, it was _going_ to be a good deal shorter, because I managed to forget to write one of the scenes entirely and wound up spending yesterday afternoon doing it :-) And yes, I am going to be quiet now and let you read.

_**For disclaimer and notes see chapter one. Reviewer responses at bottom of chapter.**_

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The ground was empty.

Constant rain had erased most of the signs of the orcs' camp, and of their trail; but there, beneath the tree where Aragorn _should _have been, there was nothing. Legolas hurried, staggering slightly, to the spot. He'd been so engrossed in frantically searching for his friend, that he hadn't noticed the tracks. Wolf tracks, he realized with a sick feeling in his stomach.

He collapsed against a tree, sliding down onto his knees, unable to contain a moan as physical and emotional pain converged overwhelmingly. It seemed like the very last thing his over-exhausted body could handle, but even worse, his mind felt it like a death-blow.

Somehow, even through his mind-numbing disbelief, anger, and grief, he'd never quite accepted his friend's death. Somehow, in the back of his mind, in his subconscious, he'd held on to the hope that Aragorn was alive.

And now…

He bowed his head in silent grief, his sorrow to great even for tears now. He'd been too late, even to save his friend's body from the wolves.

_It's not supposed to end this way! _his thoughts screamed, in one last attempt at denial. But now, unlike before, his heart had accepted it, and his mind was gradually converting to the hard truth.

The aching pain in his chest made him want to scream; he wanted to scream at the cruelness of the orcs, at the wolves who'd stolen his friend's last dignity, and most of all at himself for having let this happen.

However, in the face of such loss, Legolas couldn't stay angry―even at himself―for long. In the end he couldn't scream at anyone, or anything. He could merely whisper a few, simple, heart-broken words, that were swept away by a gentle wind and lost in the silent woods.

"Namárië, mellon-nín…gwador-nín."

He didn't notice the time passing as he knelt there for a long while. Eventually, his overwhelming grief receded slightly for the time being, leaving in its wake only incredible weariness, and determination. There was still one thing left that he could do for Estel. He must hold himself together long enough to fulfill that one last task.

He slowly rose to continue on to Rivendell.

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It was raining lightly. Again. But really, Legolas was too exhausted to care much. As he limped doggedly forward, a cool breeze brushed past him and he shivered, despite the fierce heat emanating from his skin. _Almost there…_

He had been watching the ground—he could little afford a fall just now, and he seemed to have grown strangely clumsy of late—but now he looked up again. There. He could see the wall, and just a short distance ahead was the garden door. _I suppose I would have a better chance of finding someone if I went around to the main gates. No one with any sense is likely to be in the gardens in this weather. _But the thought of walking all that distance was too overwhelming. True, it was not really all _that_ far, but at the moment even the few steps left to reach the garden seemed like too far. Besides, if he could just get inside Rivendell then, if he did collapse, someone was bound to find him.

When several fumbling tries at opening the door failed, Legolas began to fear that it might be locked, a thought which had not occurred to him before. Fortunately, his next try proved his fears wrong, as the door finally swung open. Unfortunately, it also nearly dropped him on his face as he realized he had been leaning against the door while he tried to open it.

Inwardly shaking his head at himself, he stepped forward, allowing the door to swing shut behind him. One glance confirmed his earlier suspicions—there was nobody in the garden. He eyed a bench longingly for a moment before continuing resolutely on. He knew perfectly well that if he stopped, he would _not_ be getting back up. After coming this far, he refused to give out now.

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Inside the house, he leaned against the wall gasping for breath, and steeled himself to take another step forward. He could feel the last ounces of his strength slipping away, but fear that the inhabitants of Rivendell would never hear news of Estel's death kept him conscious. His mind willed his legs to keep functioning; however, Eru seemed to have taken mercy on him once again, for as he fell forward two pairs of hands caught him.

"Legolas!"

Dazedly, he looked up into the worried faces of the twins. In his half-delirious state, it took him a minute to realize the wasn't seeing double. Strong arms gently pulled him up.

"Legolas, what happened to you? Where's Estel?"

Through the haze that was enveloping him, he only partially registered the voice as Elladan's. Remembering Estel with a pang, he disregarded the first question. He hung his head, partially in weariness, and partially out of unwillingness to see the pain his next words would cause.

"Estel is…dead," he managed to choke out before darkness claimed him.

Elladan and Elrohir stood, stunned. Their eyes met for a second, too surprised for the full portent of what Legolas had just said to fully sink in. Then, in one accord, they sprang into action.

"Go get Ada," Elladan ordered in an intense voice, as he shifted to support Legolas' full weight.

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Elrond rubbed the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes in frustration.

It was a beautiful, quiet day in Rivendell, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to relax. The disturbing thing was, he knew better than to ignore the foreboding he was feeling. But, oh how he wished he could.

Sighing, he gave up on optimism, and forced himself to be realistic. The facts were these: Aragorn and Legolas were somewhere in the woods taking a "simple" hunting trip together; the very day they'd left was the first day he'd begun to feel uneasy, and those two rarely, if ever, came back from these so-called "simple" trips without sustaining injury of some kind. Unless this foreboding evaporated, or a miracle happened, he had a bad feeling that this latest adventure of theirs would likely suffer the same end as the others.

It was a depressing train of thought, one which he would have gladly abandoned. He tried to ease his worries by reminding himself that they _weren't _expected to be back for nearly another week, after all. But somehow, that fell short as far as assurances went, and it failed to comfort him. Whenever any of his sons or Legolas went anywhere, he was left just waiting for the hammer to fall―and it very rarely disappointed him. He could only hope that this time, the hammer-fall wouldn't be too crushing.

It seemed as if that was all he could ever do: sit around, hoping they would only get themselves _half _killed; hoping that, despite their broken ribs, they'd manage to avoid internal bleeding. That despite their broken legs, they'd manage to avoid permanent maiming. Then, when they did come home―usually a little _over _half dead―he patched them back up, only to watch them ride away again. It was maddening. The monotony of waiting continued until…

"ADA!" Elrohir's frantic voice came drifting in from somewhere down the hall.

That infamous call was always followed by hurried explanations of why Legolas had been shot, and how Aragorn really didn't _mean _to get bitten by the warg… Now, he wished with all his heart that that voice in the hall was just his imagination. Sometimes he truly dreaded hearing his own name.

But the voice in the hall _wasn't _his imagination, and he rose wearily just as a breathless Elrohir burst into the room.

_Well, _he thought, as he turned to face his son. _at least the wait is over._

Out loud, he said, "What has happened, ion-nín?" As if he didn't already know.

"Legolas has arrived…he's hurt badly," Elrohir said in one breath.

Elrond wondered that he hadn't mentioned Aragorn, but he hurried down the hall beside his son without comment. Undoubtedly, Aragorn had arrived as well. Perhaps he had escaped without injury after all.

* * *

**Well, at least we got Legolas to Rivendell. That ought to please those of you who, for some inexplicable reason, actually _want_ him to survive… -g-Oh, and I guess I should mention that this is Imbecamiel, and this week I'll be doing all the reviewer responses :-) **

**Reviewer Responses:**

**Slayer3:** Bring them back? Oh dear. We've got a little… problem, it would appear. Seems people actually want _both_ of them to live… Well, I'll see what I can do. Either that, or I may have to get a writer's version of the witness protection program… Hehe, thank you for the review! Hope you like the new chapter.

**HarryEstel:** Or else what? Hmm, probably a bad question, but I've got very little sense of self-preservation today –g- Yup, poor Aragorn and Legolas seems to be the general consensus. Ah, I do love being evil! Glad you're enjoying it! Hope you like the new chapter.

**jacquelinestel: **What, you've got something against Legolas? What's he done now? LOL, if you decide to throw him out, he's welcome to come stay with me! Can't say whether I feel sorrier for him, or the "more fun" Estel… Hope your exams go well! Hmm, since most people claim Estel and Legolas aren't real, does that mean they'd allow you to bring them along to help with the test? LOL. Thanks so much for the review!

**Ainu Laire: **Aren't we fans just evil? They're half-dead, exhausted, heartbroken because they think each other is dead, and we think it's funny... Hehe, I agree, though, if you're not the one IN the situation, it's absolutely hilarious :-) -sighs happily- Yup, not only do we get to read LOTR for school, we get tests on how well we remember the chapters, have to analyze the story for assignments... Later on, I believe we'll even be watching the movies for school and comparing them to the books. Homeschooling is so great! Hmm, a silver star? Let me see... -digs through desk drawers- I keep absolutely everything that's even possibly useful, I'm sure I must have one somewhere... AHA! Here we are! -hands over big silver star- Congratulations, honorary ranger! Uh oh... Not a good idea, trying to lie to Aragorn. He grew up with the twins, remember? I'm sure he's learned to recognize a guilty person when he sees one by now. Lucky for you, he's also learned to be forgiving, at least where ladies are concerned ;-) Ooo, Gandalf wants to see you now? -cue mysterious music- I wonder what that's all about. You haven't done anything, have you? -g- Thank you so much for the review! Hope you enjoy the new chapter!

**Evergreene:** LOL! Oh, just the picture of some orc wandering up to Aragorn and Legolas to give them some helpful tips... -giggles- Better yet, let's have it be Sharzag, Blagrak or Zargut, and our heroes can explode, kill the messenger, find out the truth, and take their revenge on the stupid orcs, all in one easy stroke. Eck, now I sound like some banking commercial or something :-P Ah, but mellon-nin, you have obviously not yet learned one of the basic rules of fanfiction -never, never, ask an author if they would dare to do something. Really, that's just tempting fate... -eg- Of course we would dare. We are evil authors! HA! Now as to whether or not we will actually go ahead and DO it... You'll just have to read on and see. -attempts to smile mysteriously and chuckle evilly... with rather odd results...-

**goddesscal:** Well, as you can see, Legolas, at least, has managed to drag himself right into Elrond's hands :-) As for whether or not they're going to find out that each other are alive soon… Hey, I may be a novice writer, but I still know how to be evil! –whispers to self- I will NOT give spoilers. I will _not_ give spoilers. I will―Oh, yeah, thanks so much for the review! –wanders off- I will not give spoilers. I will NOT…

**Smiling Dragon Girl:** Hehe, oh I can just picture Legolas as a tour guide. Unfortunately, with his luck, the moment he got done explaining how the ceiling was perfectly stable at the moment, it's collapse on top of him... Poor guy really has the worst luck. -notices strange looks from readers- What! What are you looking at me like that for? It's not like I've got anything to do with it! -attempts to look innocent, but only manages to look like the cat that swallowed the canary- Really, I don't! -readers raise eyebrows- Well, maybe just a little... But I know perfectly well that you like it just as much as I do, so you needn't look so reproachful! Well, I think this chapter should pretty well explain what Legolas thought when he didn't find Aragorn's body... Poor guy, I'm so mean. -eyes sharp pointy objects nervously- Oh noooo, can't have you suffering update-withdrawal-syndrome. Nope, couldn't have that... -edges away- I'm working on it, really I am! Heh, here's the new chapter, see?

**CKlovesme2040:** Save them? Well... What if I said I'd think about it? -notices glares from readers- Alright, alright, I suppose I can give you a definite... maybe. -g- I'm really happy to hear that you're enjoying it! As for more stories... Nef is already working on a sequel to one "The Wrong One", one of her other stories, and I believe she's got plans for more as well. As far as I'm concerned... -shrugs- Don't know, really. I might write more, but then again, this might wind up being the first and only story I've ever written :-) Oh, BTW, I saw in your bio that you're a Christian. So are we :-) Always wonderful to meet another believer on here. Thanks so much for the review! I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

**viggomaniac:** -g- Not to worry, your review got here in plenty of time : ) I'm so happy to hear that you're enjoying it so much! Hurt the Ranger more? –attempts to look like inscrutable, mysterious author- Perhaps… You'll just have to wait and see ; ) Thank you so much for taking the time to review! Hope you like the new chapter!

**crazyAZN kid:** The suspense is getting to you, hmm? Well, maybe a new chapter would help with that? Oh, thanks for the story recommendation! Haven't heard of that one, I'll have to check it out. Thank you so much for your review!

**Thank you all so much for your reviews – we love and re-read all of them :-) Hope to see you all next week! The next chapter can be expected on next Friday, as usual.**

**Imbecamiel, newest member of the SNWCG **


	7. Chapter 7

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**He's Gone**

By Nefhiriel & Imbecamiel

**Rating:** T (PG-13)

**Genres: **Action/Adventure/Angst

**A/N: **Well, I've got two announcements to make today. First, after some last-minute rearranging, we have discovered that this story is actually going to be a little shorter than we'd originally thought it was. So, after this, I believe there will be only one more chapter, and an epilogue. Secondly, we will be leaving on vacation next Friday. Now, I'm fairly certain that we should still be able to post on time (if it looks like we won't, we'll probably post a day early). However, the Friday _after_ next, we will not have any internet connection, so we're planning on posting the next Monday or Tuesday (that would be the 20th or 21st of June), when we will be back from vacation. Alright then, hope I haven't too thoroughly confused anyone ;-)

_**For disclaimer and notes see chapter one. Reviewer responses at bottom of chapter.**_

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After working over the Prince for some time, Elrond sat back with an almost inaudible sigh. Legolas was out of danger—at least for the moment. The would need to keep a close eye on him, but undoubtedly Aragorn… He paused mid-thought, searching for the familiar, worried face that always haunted Legolas' sick-room. But Elladan and Elrohir were the only other occupants in the room.

"Where is Estel?" he inquired quietly. He looked at the twins, hoping to see them smile, and reassure him that they'd forced Aragorn to drink some tea, and that he was mostly uninjured, but resting. The absence of a response drew his attention to the slightly guilty, scared looks on the twins faces as they glanced at each other, refusing to meet his gaze. "Where is Estel?" he repeated more insistently.

"Well, h-he _was _delirious, Ada…" Elrohir trailed off, a note of pain in his voice as he stumbled over his words. "We thought that he might…w-well…not be thinking straight. He c-couldn't have meant..."

Misunderstanding, Elrond interjected harshly, his voice sharpened with worry, "Estel is _delirious _and you told me nothing? Of course he wouldn't be thinking straight. Where is he?" Elrond was confused and shocked; this was so unlike his sons…

"No, Ada, not Estel," Elladan hastened to say. "Elrohir was talking about Legolas."

Elrond forced his eldest to look him in the eye. "What did he say?" he asked, still firmly, but allowing gentleness enter his voice.

"Right before he lost consciousness, Legolas said…" here his voice broke. "He said that Estel was…dead."

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Glorfindel settled further into the shadows. He was not given to eavesdropping, but then, this wasn't _really _eavesdropping―it was more like…

_Spying? _his thoughts supplied helpfully.

He barely caught himself from snorting out loud. Councilors did _not _spy. In order to help his lord, a councilor had to do a certain amount of…observing. Yes, that was the word: observing.

And so he continued to "observe" the twins as they sat watchfully next to the Prince's bed. Intermittently, they would make eye contact―one tentatively looking up at the other―connecting for a split second before looking back down. Each time their eyes connected, they seemed to convey the same message, and each time they separated they seemed to conceal the same doubts, fears, and indecision.

Elrohir glanced slowly up at Elladan, and then furtively looked away. It would have been comical under less heart-breaking circumstances. But everyone knew the devoted, nearly possessive love both twins had for their "little" brother. This scene was nothing to laugh at. Glorfindel closed his eyes briefly, feeling deeply the pain the Peredhil family was going through.

He needed to have a serious talk with the two headstrong young elf lords, and experience told him he was going to need to be in full control of his emotions in order to carry through with it. He stepped forward into the soft firelight. For a full minute, his presence remained undetected, then Elrohir saw him out of the corner of his eye.

"Glorfindel!" he said, with obviously strained cheerfulness.

They both sat up straighter in their chairs.

"What do you want?" The words didn't come out at all like Elladan had meant them to, but he was running low on emotional energy, and frankly, he didn't have the strength or loquaciousness to make any pretences of being "just fine".

Even though Elladan muttered apologies and tried to explain, he was really counting on Glorfindel to understand what he'd meant. The Balrog slayer didn't disappoint. He smiled understandingly, an expression that Elladan might have found annoying had he been in the mood to notice.

Looking at the two weary faces before him, Glorfindel decided it would be wise to get right to the point. He eased himself down to sit on the edge of the bed. "All of Imladris worries for Estel," he started quietly.

That seemed to break the ice. Elrohir's posture, if possible, became even more mournful. Elladan raised his head, desperate grey eyes searched Glorfindel's face for an answer. "And we sit here and do nothing."

It was hard to tell whether it was meant as a question or a statement, but Glorfindel chose to answer it as the former. "No, we do _not _sit here and do nothing. Even now, Glamdil rides to search for any signs of Estel. I will leave in a few minutes as well. And there are others looking already." he smiled sadly at the twins, locking gazes with Elladan. "You two must also do your part."

The two dark-haired elves looked slightly startled and Elladan hurriedly said, "Of course, El and I are ready to leave. Or I could go with you and Elrohir could―"

"No…" Glorfindel interrupted. "I don't think you should come with us."

Not a little confused, all Elladan and Elrohir could do was stare. Finally Elrohir stammered, "What do you mean?"

"Yes, why shouldn't we look for Estel too?" Elladan added weakly.

Glorfindel smiled patiently. "You know as well as I." The twins still looked blank. "I think you were debating the very subject when I entered just now."

"How…?" Elladan's voice trailed off.

"How did I know?" Glorfindel completed the sentence, chuckling lightly. "I can put two and two together, and like anyone, I can see you are torn in two over whether you should go or stay."

Elladan nodded, sighing in defeat. "I feel so guilty, not being the first to look for Estel, but…" He spoke for both himself, and his twin, as they so often did.

"Right now half the warriors in Rivendell are out looking for Estel, and you two aren't going to make much of a difference. It's up to Eru now." Glorfindel leaned forward to place a hand on each of their shoulders. He studied their faces carefully, firmly forcing each to look him in the eye. "But your Adar _does _need you―and he needs you _here_."

To his surprise, they both began to nod, as if a great weight had just been removed. He'd come expecting to have to do a good deal of convincing. Still, he decided to give them all the assurance he could. "Glamdil and I will look just as hard as you would." On second thought, he added with an enigmatic smile, "And likely end up in much less trouble."

Despite their best efforts, the twins couldn't help but smile.

Glorfindel rose slowly. That had gone a lot better than he'd expected. From his…observations, he'd gathered that Elrond needed to know that at least two of his sons were safe, if only for the moment. Besides, what he had just said was true. They were likelyto have enough to worry about without wondering just what new trouble the twins were going to discover this time.

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The forest usually calmed him, but not today. Glamdil's thoughts were in turmoil, and the importance of his task weighed heavily on him. The sound of the dozen horses behind him was intensified in his own hyper-alert hearing, as he strained to catch the faintest disturbance in the quiet woods. Again, he pushed aside feelings of incompetence; Lord Elrond had chosen him, and that ought to be enough.

Inhaling the fresh green scent left by the last rain, he urged his horse forward and scanned the forest for any signs of the ranger. The scenery was discouraging: mile after mile only uncovered more trees, more bushes… He jerked his horse to a stop so suddenly it whinnied in surprise. But he ignored it, for there, leaning against a tree, was Aragorn.

"Lord Estel!" he exclaimed, nearly losing his elven composure, and falling off his horse, in his hurry to dismount. Aragorn, who seemed to be focusing all of his attention on each ragged breath, didn't immediately look up. "Estel!" Glamdil repeated, in his urgency to get a response forgetting formalities.

Slowly, Aragorn lifted his head. Glazed silver eyes tried to focus on him through a feverish haze. He narrowed his eyes uncertainly. "El?" He took a tentative step forward.

Glamdil reached forward just in time to catch him, as his legs buckled out from beneath him. "No Estel, it's me, Glamdil." The elf began to feel overwhelmed, this time with relief. As much as Elrond had tried to hide it, everyone in Rivendell could tell he feared that Estel was dead. After what Legolas had said, delirious or not, they all were inclined to believe him. The friendship between the Prince of Mirkwood and Aragorn was as close as that of brothers; Legolas never would have given up and left him, unless he thought all hope was gone.

Now, Glamdil could hardly keep back the tears of relief. "Legolas…he..." Glamdil choked on his words, remembering the pain in the eyes of Elladan, Elrohir, and Elrond. If Aragorn had truly been dead, he didn't know how Rivendell could have suffered the blow.

Aragorn's own eyes welled up, as he misinterpreted Glamdil's tears for those grief. He hung his head and gave up trying to restrain his own torrent of emotions. As he allowed his body to slide into the painless abyss of unconsciousness, he said hoarsely, "I'm sorry, I tried…But the orcs, Legolas…the cliff…" With one last effort, he looked back into Glamdil's eyes said numbly, "He's dead."

Glamdil blinked in surprise at that announcement. _What on Arda…_But there was no time to waste in useless conjecturing. After selecting two warriors to accompany him back to Rivendell, he sent several others to find the other search parties and inform them that Estel had been found. The remainder he sent on to reinforce the border patrols and warn them of the possible presence of orcs in the area.

Glamdil hastily examined Estel, doing what he could to bind the worst of his wounds. His skill in such matters was limited, but it was easy to see that Estel's condition was serious. Normally they would have made a litter to carry him, but Glamdil feared that he might not have the time left that it would take to walk back to Rivendell. No, they must ride.

He handed Estel to one of the warriors, who held him while Glamdil mounted, then handed him up. Glamdil took him, carefully settling him before himself on the horse. Then he turned to the other mounted warriors.

"Come, we must return to Rivendell as swiftly as possible."

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Glamdil slowed his horse to a walk as they entered the gates of Rivendell. Obviously their approach had already been spotted, for as he entered the courtyard, the Peredhil family already stood there waiting for him. They immediately caught sight of the figure slumped in front of him.

Instantly, three pairs of fearful, questioning eyes fixed on Glamdil. They pleaded silently with him to give them hope, at the same time terribly afraid that Legolas might have known all too well what he was saying when he had told them that Estel was dead.

He hastened to reassure them. "Peace, my Lords, his wounds are grievous, but he lives yet."

There were three collective sighs of relief, sounding as if they had been holding their breath the entire time he'd been gone, only daring to release it now. Then Elladan was gently pulling Estel off the horse, taking him into his arms, while Elrohir called a servant to bring Glamdil's horse to the stables. Elrond lead the way to the healing wing, hurrying on ahead to ready the herbs and equipment he expected he would need.

Glamdil followed silently in the family's wake. He knew they would soon be wanting to question him about the details of how and where he had found Estel. In the mean time, he was ready to provide what little assistance he could, but otherwise disappear into the background until he was wanted.

Elladan started toward the bed next to Legolas', intending to lay his brother where he always wanted to be when they were hurt: near his friend. Elrond, however, hastily redirected him to a bed a short distance away.

"Whatever has happened, Legolas obviously believes Estel to be dead. His words may have been nothing more than the result of his fever, or he may have had better reason to think it. Whatever the case, I do not think that the shock of seeing someone he thinks dead would be the best thing for him when he first wakes up."

After that, a worried silence descended over the room, broken only by an occasional soft request from Elrond as he worked over his youngest son. The twins handed him the things he wanted and lent a hand where needed, their expressions uncharacteristically grim as injury after injury was discovered and tended. Glamdil had not been exaggerating when he had said that their brother's wounds were grievous.

Even Elrond winced when they were forced to cut away Estel's boot to reveal his extremely swollen and discolored ankle. But obviously the worst wound by far was where the dagger had pierced him, far too close to the heart for comfort.

Elrohir gave a gasp when it was uncovered, while Elladan said softly, "It would appear that Legolas did have good reason to think that Estel was dead."

"It would indeed." Elrond quietly agreed, trying hard not to allow the fear and pain the sight of the wound awakened in his father's heart to get in the way of his need to assess and tend it calmly.

When they had finished caring for Aragorn, the Peredhil family sat for some time in silence looking down at him, deep in thought.

Glamdil was dead tired. He had taken very little rest on the way out, intent on discovering the truth of Aragorn's fate and bringing news to his worried family, and none at all on the way back. He had been too afraid for Estel's life to risk any delay. But as exhausted as he was, he was loathe to intrude on the family, and he did not want them to be forced to track him down when they did wish to speak with him, So he stood in silence.

As usual, Elrond was the first to recover himself. Looking up, he noticed Glamdil, still waiting patiently. As soon as his lord became aware of him, he stepped forward.

"He will be alright?" he asked, glancing with sympathetic concern toward the bed.

"He should be. He is resting quietly now. As you should be." He added, noting the other elf's worn appearance. "I am sorry we kept you here waiting so long."

"It is perfectly alright, Hir-nin. I know how worried you have been about him."

"We will not keep you much longer. If you will simply tell us briefly what happened, the full report can wait until tomorrow, when you are rested."

The twins were, by now, listening attentively, so without further ado, Glamdil launched into the report. He was to-the-point, making sure to leave out no important detail, but keeping as concise as possible. When he was finished, Elrond thanked him quietly, and dismissed him. As he was turning to go, however, Glamdil suddenly halted.

"My lord, there was one other thing. When I found him, he said something rather curious." Upon Elrond's questioning "Oh?", he continued. "He told me that Prince Legolas was dead."

A perplexed frown crossed Elrond's face, as he glanced automatically at the bad where Legolas lay. The prince was, of course, resting quietly, as he had been since he had arrived.

Elladan voiced all of their thoughts. "Those two are going to have a lot of explaining to do when they wake up."

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**Well, there you have it, they're both finally back to Rivendell! And they still manage to be just as clueless as before… They do have such _lovely_ luck, if I do say so myself –eg- Oh, I suppose I should let you know that this is Imbecamiel again this week. Yup, looks like you guys are stuck with me –g- Unless Nef decides to do this again next week… ;-) **

**Reviewer responses:**

**Slayer3**: NOOO! Not the pointy objects! -sigh- Fine. I guess we'll let him live... THIS time. Just watch out though, we may feel the need to make up for it next time ;-) BTW, what does the quote at the end of your review mean? I can only seem to remember what about every other word means :-P Thank you so much for your review! Hope you enjoy the new chapter.

**Daethule:** LOL, Nef and I laughed so hard over your little skit with Aragorn and the twins. Surprisingly accurate, actually :-) Hehe, yup, poor Elrond. Personally, I've always even felt more sorry for the poor people left at home to worry then for the people who actually get into the trouble. At least the people out there getting hurt actually know what's going on! Well, most of the time, that is. In this case, no one really knows what's going on... -eg- We're so mean to them. Thank you so much for the review! Hope you like the new chapter too!

**Lady Leeanne:** Leeanne! Yay! So good to see you here :-D Oh um, and hello, entwife Chloe. My what an... unusual name you have. For an entwife, that is ;-) Hehe, I rather liked that line myself, glad to hear you found it funny too -g- ROTFL! Oh that is so funny about the door to your room. Hehe, fortunately/unfortunately, our door doesn't have a lock, so that doesn't really happen all that often to us. Come to think of it though, I did walk into the door just last night, because I was really tired and didn't realize that it was latched :-P Thank you so much for your reviews, mellon-nin! Hope you like the new chapter.

**CKlovesme2040:** LOL, well, I wouldn't exactly say nothing can harm him now... Those two seem able to find trouble ANYwhere. Besides, the twins live there, remember? -g- It really is surprising how often my favorite authors end up being Christians. Did you know that even Cassia and Sio are Christians? Keep them safe? Well... -sigh- If I HAVE to... Of course, you realize this means they'll probably have to make up for it in the next story -eg- Thank you so much for reviewing! Hope you like the new chapter.

**Ainu Laire:** LOL, ah, the Ranger's not-so-subtle forms of revenge... But really Aragorn, haven't you ever heard of second-hand smoke? Better watch out, Laire, I think he may be trying to poison you ;-) LOL, nope, I don't believe we ever get anything less than a perfect score on those tests. So much fun -g- Oh yes, isn't it fun watching peoples' reactions when they find out just how obsessed you are? We've had some pretty interesting reactions... -snickers- Silly Ranger, doesn't understand the true value of a fake gold star. Or the fact that a silver one makes you an honorary Ranger either... -shakes head sadly- Really, Laire, it would appear you have been neglecting his internet education! Ah yes, such a sad sight, a poor, ignorant, uneducated Ranger... -notices Aragorn's glare- Ahem, well anyways, it would appear you'd probably better fill him in on a few things, if he's to be a well informed king ;-) Aw, I think you'd make a wonderful Ranger,  
Laire! -sticks tongue out at Aragorn- And don't you dare tell me I'm being childish, Strider! Believe me, we authors have even better ways of taking revenge than you Rangers do! -eg- Thank you so much for the review! Hope you enjoy the new chapter.

**Hippielover459:** I'm so glad to hear that you loke the story :-D Thank you for reviewing! Hope you like the new chapter.

**lindahoyland:** Well, you got your wish - Aragorn has now reached Rivendell. Now if only Legolas knew that... Hehe, we're so mean to them. I'm so happy to hear that you're enjoying the story! Thanks for reviewing :-)

**QueenofFlarmphgal:** Yay! So happy to hear that you like our story :-) Hehe, I really loved TWO too. LOL, took me forever to convince Nef that it IS actually a good story, though. She's so hard on her own work. Well, you should be happy to hear that Nef is actually more than half way done with the sequel to TWO :-) LOL, yup, more Aragorn torture would be tragically fun (um, for US, anyways)... Unfortunately, it seems that for some reason everyone actually WANTS him to survive, so we kind of had to get him some medical attention here ;-) Thank you so much for reviewing! Hope you like the new chapter!

**Tinorial Peredhil:** Aw, it's alright, mellon-nin, we do understand :-) This tends to be a pretty busy time of year for everyone. Not to worry, you're quite forgiven ;-) Tsk, tsk, looks like LR still has a lot to learn... Imagine, having the gall to say that he could WAIT. -shakes head sadly- My, he does come back from unconsciousness quickly, though. -looks suspicious- Guard hasn't been replacing all your rocks with foam ones, has he? Hehe, oh yes, I'm afraid that the chapter titles will be of very little use to you this time around. I wound up completely forgetting to name ANY of them, right up untill it was time to start posting the story, and then I was just too lazy to go back and do it, so this time all the chapters are nameless :-P Or, I suppose, I could call them 'captured by orcs' ' They get beat up' 'They get beat up some more and Aragorn dies... sort of' ''Aragorn wakes up, and Legolas dies... sort of'... LOL, or not. No! I don't think we need a Remorse Reminder! He'd probably decide that his job was to make us feel bad every time we do something to one of them... and you wouldn't want us to stop that, now, would you? Hmm, let me think... Did we expect Legolas to make it to his feet on the first try? Um... Well, you see, actually, we kind of knew that he would. We authors are kind of psychic that way, you see. -attempts knowing, mysterious look... looks more like she's got indigestion- Now Guard, there's no reason to be such a spoilsport! Honestly, she teaches you all these wonderful new games, and all you do is complain! "I couldn't breathe." Really... And she's so forgiving, too. Look, even after all that, she invited you to go with to Dol Guldor. Such a nice friend. Ah yes. -nods gravely- That's what happens when people don't review on time - the chapters just start growing shorter and shorter... Ooo, bad idea LR. Never, I repeat, NEVER interrupt a fangirl when she's in an angsty mood - even if it IS in an attempt to tell her there's no need for grief. I assure you, saying anything at such a time is considered very bad for your health. Well, who'd of thunk the Witch King of all people would come in handy... Guess it just goes to show you never know about people. Aw, and it looks like dear Fluffy would like to invite Guard over for dinner! So sweet... Hmm, the WK isn't as mean as last time? Probably had a few too many candy-canes in the course of that quest of his... Oh, what a lovely picture! -hangs up over computer- I'll put it right here, to inspire us while we write ;-) -sighs happily- So sweet, such a loving little group... Aw, yes Guard, you don't have to worry about leaving her! The reason we gave you to her is that we knew she'd give you a good home for the rest of your life. -pats Guard reassuringly- Thank you so much for the lovely reviews, mellon-nin! Hope you like the new chapter :-)

**Evergreene:** Yup, Legolas is back sort-of-safely, and now Aragorn is too. Now if only they could figure that out... Oh yes, we definitely know about sleep deprivation. In fact, our lovely dog has been determined to teach us all possible meanings of the term :-P Thank you for reviewing, even in your not-quite-awake state ;-) Hope you like the new chapter!

**SmilingDragonGirl:** -nods understandingly- Oh, of COURSE you're possessed by a dead Balrog. Happens all the time. Dreadful nuisance, that. -hands over  
spare fire extunguishers of doom- These should help. They've been known to do wonders with flamers, they ought to work against a Balrog ;-) Hehe, sorry, no wolves for Aragorn this time. LOL, we kind of figured there were some limits to reality, and to expect him to fight wolves in this state, armed with only a single orc dagger... And he's not exactly in much of a state to be climbing trees either, so... -sighs- Ah well, maybe next time -eg- You like the reviewer responses? Thank you! Very encouraging to know that people actually find us funny, not just dumb or wierd ;-) LOL, and of course, to be compared to the great Cassia and Sio, even if it's only for reviewer responses, is always incredibly flattering -g- I agree, though. It's SO sad not to have them on here any more. and now all the reviews and everything are gone -sniff- I used to keep myself sane between stories by re-re-re-reading the old ones, and then going on to read all the reviewer responses, and then all the reviews... Hehe, at least I can still read their stories on their site, even if the reviews and such are gone. Hmm, and now I'm the one who's rambling... Ah yes, the tourists would be in the cave to, wouldn't they... But don't you see? That's just another part of his incredibly bad luck - one of them would probably decide to sue! Oh, best of luck with the Balrog slaying! And be careful! We would DEFINITELY hate to lose you! -hands over garden hose- Here, better take this, just incase the fire extinguishers don't work. Hope you're still around to enjoy this chapter ;-)

**Inuyashaloverfan:** Well, here's another chapter for you, hope you like it :-) Thank you for reviewing!

**Deep Sorrow, aka she-who-was-until-recently-known-as-elvingirl3737 ;-) **I like your new name! Well, I mean, it's kind of... sad, obviously, but I really like it ;-) LOL, oh I know all about the traumatizing, long, internet-less vacations. We took one that was nearly a month long over Christmas, and then, a week after we got back, we left again to visit friends for a week... Traumatizing is definitely the word. -g- At least we all survived, though! So now we can provide angst therapy for you, and you can provide review therapy for us, right? Oh, I am SO glad you liked Legolas' escape! Hehe, when I was writing that part, I got him INTO the cave, but then I didn't really have any more idea how he was supposed to get out than he did :-P I'm very happy to hear that it didn't wind up seeming totally unrealistic or something, though :-D Hehe, yes, it would be deliciously bad if they were to not even go look for him... However, even WE are not quite evil enough to just leave them all to die of grief. At least, I don't think we're evil enough... Maybe with enough practice, we could GET evil enough to do that. Hmm... -stares off dreamily- There's an idea... Glad to hear you liked Elrond's thoughts! Nef's responsible for that wonderful part :-) Poor guy, I think he's the one who needs a vacation. Actually, Nef's got a story started about that... Unfortunately, it's kind of running into some snags, so I'm not sure if she'll be finishing it anytime soon. Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews! Hope you like the new chappie!

**HarryEstel:** Well, as you can see, however cruel we might be, we're not quite cruel enough to let them all die of grief :-) Thank you so much for reviewing! Hope you like the new chapter too.

**Erulasse: **Aw, I'm so glad you like the way we write together! It's really been a lot of fun for both of us :-) Hehe, well actually, we DO have a brother… LOL, oh yes, poor deluded Elrond… -sigh- The poor guy's probably just in denial. Either that, or he's the world's biggest optimist :-) ROTFL, loved your ideas for ways to use "Aragorn" and "escaped without injury" in the same sentence! So very true… Alright, here's an update! Hope you like it. Thank you so much for the review!

**viggomaniac:** LOL, nope, Aragorn's not wolf chow – this time ;-) –sigh- Now that I'm just about done posting, I keep thinking of all these great things I could have added or done differently… No, not actually letting Aragorn die! But there are so many other things… Ah well, can't get it all just right on the first story, I guess. I'll just have to remember it for next time. LOL, yes, it would be rather "disconcerting" to imagine your best friend getting eaten by wolves… As for Elrond… It's my opinion that by now he's got to be either in denial, or the world's biggest optimist. I think that's the only way he could possibly avoid insanity. Terribly sorry for the shortness of the last chapter. We really tried to make it longer, but there really just wasn't any way that worked :-P Thank you so much for your review! Hope you enjoy the new chapter.

**Again, thank you all so much for your reviews! We love you all! As I said before, next chapter can be expected next Friday, or _possibly_ Thursday.**

**Imbecamiel, proud member of the SNWCG **


	8. Chapter 8

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**He's Gone**

By Nefhiriel & Imbecamiel

**Rating:** T (PG-13)

**Genres: **Action/Adventure/Angst

**A/N: **Well, we have managed to grab a couple of minutes of internet time (lol, and it did take some doing too. At the place where we're staying, we've got no internet, no TV, no cell phone, and at the moment, not even a regular telephone). So, let's see if we can manage to get this posted… Oh, and I haven't had a chanc to do my usual last-minute check for problems, so hopefully there won't be any unplesant surprises in the chapter :-P

_**For disclaimer and notes see chapter one. Reviewer responses at bottom of chapter**_

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He was blissfully warm and comfortable. For the moment, there was nothing else he wanted to know. Legolas had a vague feeling that something very unpleasant awaited him when he came to full awareness, but right now he had absolutely no desire to find out what it was, so he wrapped himself further in dreamy relaxation, resolutely refusing to wake up and remember where he was. He reveled in the softness of the bed. It really was lovely just to lie there, listening to the quiet...

Or, he had _thought_ it was quiet. Now he began to be aware of a sound. Was that someone snoring? Yes. He was becoming more aware now, and there was definitely someone snoring softly nearby. Legolas sighed.

_I suppose I will have to wake up now, after all._

He still didn't want to, but against his will his body was becoming more and more alert to its surroundings, so he decided that he might as well give in.

Opening his eyes, he was not altogether surprised to find himself in Rivendell - the healing ward, to be exact. He had certainly been here often enough to know. The only question was, why? Ah yes. His body chose that moment to be obliging on that count, its growing awareness bringing a myriad of aches and pains to his consciousness.

Still, the pain was nowhere near overwhelming, his injuries clearly having been well tended. Anyway, he still had not found out who was in the room with him, so for the moment he set aside his body's signals in order to continue exploring his surroundings. Turning his head slightly to the left, he discovered nothing particularly enlightening, so he tried the other side. Well, that certainly answered the question of who else was in the room.

He surveyed the twins with an amused smile. Elrohir was slumped in his chair, head tilted forward, feet propped up on a nearby table. Elladan was sprawled in an even more awkward position, one leg thrown over one arm of his chair, an arm dangling loosely over the other. His head had slipped off the chair back, and now hung back. It was from his slightly open mouth that the quiet snoring was emanating.

In short, they both looked the very picture of well-earned, exhausted rest. Legolas thought they were both sure to be dreadfully sore when they woke, sleeping like that, but he would not disturb them. They truly did look as if they had not slept in days.

Besides, there was also the fact that the moment they knew he was awake, they'd be hovering all over the place, and probably forcing all sorts of foul tasting potions down his throat as well. The only person better than them at mothering him when he was hurt was Estel.

Come to think of it, it was extremely odd that he wasn't here... He only had a moment to wonder where his friend was, before memory and grief came crashing back. Estel was dead.

He wished now that he had not woken up at all. The gaping hole in his life which his friend had once filled hurt more deeply than any physical wound. For the first time, he allowed himself to really think about his loss, fully realizing it as he had not dared to earlier. Tears tracked down his cheeks, as he finally gave his body permission to grieve.

He cried for a long time, and when at last he finally began gradually to stop, he realized that he was terribly thirsty. He recalled seeing a glass of water on the table - dangerously near to Elrohir's feel, as a matter of fact, but the thought failed to bring him any amusement.

Wiping his tears away, he began pulling himself up, stiffly and slowly, to see if reaching it was a reasonable proposition. And then he froze, as his eyes caught on something across the room. Or rather, someone.

For a moment, he could neither move, nor make a sound. His mind only screamed. It couldn't be. He was dead! He couldn't be here!

And then the spell broke. Legolas gave a strangled cry, as shock, disbelief, and bewilderment battled inside him. The arm that had been holding him up collapsed under his weight, dropping him back down on the bed with a painful jolt.

The effects of his cry were instantaneous. With a startled yelp of his own, Elladan fell out of his chair, landing with an extremely undignified _thud_. Elrohir jerked awake, accidentally kicking the glass, sending it crashing to the floor to further add to the confusion.

Even after having been so suddenly awakened from a sound sleep, it took the twins only a little more than a second to figure out what must have happened. They glanced with slightly guilty concern between their brother's bed, which they had all thought far enough away to avert such an occurrence, and Legolas' pale, shocked face, which obviously proved otherwise.

Knowing his brother was the more skilled in such situations, Elladan quickly whispered, "Try to calm him down. I'll go find Ada." At Elrohir's answering nod, he set off, confident in his brother's ability to calm their distraught friend.

Retrieving another glass, Elrohir filled it with water, then carefully helped Legolas sit to drink it, all the while offering soothing reassurances. He knew well enough that Legolas registered not a word of what he was saying; however, the tone proved calming enough, and Legolas soon recovered his voice, at least, if not exactly his composure.

"Estel...What...He...?"

Elrohir kindly relieved his friend of his stammering attempt at voicing his thoughts. "Estel is still alive. He was badly hurt, but Ada says he'll be alright." He sighed. "Legolas, I'm so sorry. We didn't mean to both fall asleep like that. We'd hoped to tell you the news rather more gently..." He trailed off, stopping to allow Legolas time to absorb the information.

"How?" Legolas finally whispered.

"We don't know. He hasn't woken since he was found. Though," he paused, suddenly recalling what Glamdil had told them, "he seemed quite convinced then that _you_ were the one who was dead."

Legolas frowned, for a moment as confused as Elrohir, then his eyes widened. "He... Oh Eru, he must have seen me go over the cliff."

But before Elrohir could demand further explanation, Elladan returned, their father following closely, and the telling of the story was put off for later.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Elrond placed a hand on Legolas' forehead, and was relieved to discover no more signs of fever. His eyes full of gentle concern, he asked Legolas quietly, "How are you feeling, penn neth?"

Legolas, however, was still too desperate for reassurance to answer any concerns for his own health. Brushing aside both the question and the hands that were attempting to check whether his shoulder wound had been aggravated by his recent abrupt movements, he gripped Elrond's arm tightly. Looking at him with pleading intensity, he asked, "He will truly be alright? He is not dead? It is not just another dream?"

"No, Legolas, it is no dream. He will be alright." Elrond smiled at him. "Now, if you will allow me to tend to you...? I should very much like for you to be alive to greet him when he wakes up."

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Legolas sat in a chair next to Aragorn's bed, watching anxiously as Elrond examined his friend. Several days had passed since the elf first woke, but as yet the human had shown no indications of following his example.

In truth, Legolas had no business being out of bed for a good long time yet, but the Peredhil family had been forced to resign themselves to the fact that trying to keep him from his friend's side when he was this worried about him was a hopeless endeavor. Moving him to the bed next to Estel's had contented him for no more than a day, and in the end Elrond had reluctantly given his permission for Legolas to sit in the chair - provided that he remained warmly wrapped in a blanket, and did not exert himself in any way.

Straightening now, Elrond smiled at Legolas, answering his unspoken question. "Yes, Legolas, I am certain that he will recover. The fever is all but gone, and he is out of danger. It is only a matter of time now." Seeing Legolas open his mouth, he cut off the second question as well. "No, penn neth, I still can not be certain when he will wake. However, I do not think it will be much longer. In fact, I do not see any reason why he should not wake within the next day or two."

Legolas answered his smile with a slightly sheepish one of his own. "Have I really asked that many times?"

Coming up behind them, Elrohir answered for his father. "Only a dozen times a day."

"Ah, but you are mistaken, muindor!" Elladan corrected his brother, cutting in with a mischievous grin. "The first day he only asked ten times."

"But that hardly counts!" Elrohir countered, "He spent most of the first day sleeping! Besides, as I recall, he asked fourteen times yesterday, so that makes up for it."

Before Elladan could come back with an argument about whether the were talking about averages, or the precise number of times per day, Elrond decided to take control of the situation. "As fascinating as I'm sure we're all finding this conversation, I'm afraid I must insist that you leave my patient be. You may torment him as much as you like after he has recovered - out of my earshot. Understood?"

Attention was diverted from the twins' nods and chorus of "Yes Ada"s, however, by a groggy voice from the bed. "But Ada, it was just getting interesting."

Everyone spun around to face a faintly smiling Estel. Legolas started to his feet, uttering an exclamation of surprised delight. He would have crashed to the floor immediately afterwards, when the lightheaded dizziness from the sudden change of position caught up with him, had not a firm pair of hands caught hold of his shoulders, steadying him until he regained his balance.

"Easy Legolas." Elrond said, gently pressing him back down into the chair.

The half-smile on Aragorn's face gradually faded into a look of bewilderment. "You're not dead." His face lit up. "Legolas! You're alive!"

Elladan laughed. "Brilliant deduction, muindor! I'm glad to see that Ada has taught you the healing arts so well."

"Enough, ion-nin. What have I told you about tormenting my patients?" Elrond's attempt at a stern look, however was rather spoiled by the smile that he couldn't quite hide.

"Sorry Ada," Elladan replied cheerfully, sounding perfectly unrepentant.

Shaking his head ruefully, Elrond turned back toward his patients. "You have quite a bit of explaining to do, Estel." He smiled gently, glancing back and forth between his youngest son, who still had an expression of dazed joy on his face, and Legolas, who, despite his happy smile, was beginning to look rather pale and tired. "I will not press you for that now, though. If I am not mistaken, the two of you will wish to talk for a while." At their eager agreement, he continued. "Well, I will not forbid it; _however_ you, Legolas, can talk just as well from your bed." A slightly rebellious look entered the younger elf's eyes, but Elrond gave him a stern look. "No arguments. You will lie down in your bed while you talk, or I will give you both sleeping draughts and move you to separate rooms."

When Legolas was comfortably installed in his bed, the twins made as if to settle into some chairs themselves. Elrond, however, had other ideas. "The two of you will be coming with me."

"But Ada-" Elrohir cried.

"You _will_ be coming with me," Elrond repeated. "You are bad enough when I'm here. I don't even want to imagine what you would do when I was gone." An amused, sympathetic smile softened his firmness. "Come, you need not look as if I were banishing you forever. You can come back in later."

So, with a parting smile for their brother and Legolas, the twins reluctantly followed Elrond from the room. Suddenly, Elladan's head reappeared in the doorway. "We'll be back as soon as we can get away," he whispered to them, for fear his father would overhear. Before they could respond, Elrond's voice was heard calling from down the hall, and Elladan quickly disappeared again.

Legolas chuckled softly. "How is it that he manages to make that sound more like a threat than a promise?"

Aragorn grinned back at him. "I have no idea"

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"It's still so hard to believe," Aragorn said. "I was so sure that this time at least one of us was not going to make it."

"So was I," Legolas replied softly.

They had spent some time talking, both asking and answering dozens of questions. Even now, they were reluctant to give in to the heavy pull of sleep, despite its ever more insistent tugging at them. Both still held on to fears that it might really be some beautiful dream that would dissolve if they dared to loose their hold on it for a moment.

They looked up as the door opened with a soft _click_. Elladan poked his head in, glancing around the room warily. Seeing no one save Aragorn and Legolas, he stepped in, silently gesturing to someone out in the hall. When Elrohir had joined him inside the room, the older twin looked furtively up and down the hall one more time before shutting the door as quietly as possible. The twins pulled chairs up near the beds, meeting their brother and friend's quizzical looks with mischievous smiles.

"Ada thinks we're still chopping up some herbs," Elrohir informed them, keeping his voice low.

"Does he indeed?" inquired a deep voice from the doorway. Leaping up as if burned, the twins spun around. Elrond studied his sons. "I thought I might find you here."

"Ada! I- Ah, we-" Elladan began stammering, while Elrohir had the wide-eyed look of a cornered rabbit.

Unexpectedly, Elrond simply smiled, shaking his head at them. "There is no need to invent an excuse, Elladan. I am not here to scold you."

"You aren't?" Disbelief echoed in Elladan's words.

"No. Actually, I was _attempting_ to find you in order to tell you that you may rejoin Estel and Legolas. However, you seem to have taken care of that on your own." Elrond raised one eyebrow slightly, and the twins had, at least, the grace to look slightly chagrined.

"I know that you wish to discuss… recent events with Estel and Legolas. _However_, they both are very much in need of rest. I will allow you fifteen minutes to talk." He looked at the Aragorn and Legolas. "When I return, I expect you both to be well on your way to being asleep. And if either of you," He added, returning his gaze to the twins, "do anything to hinder that I will not hesitate to remove you from this room and not allow you back in until they are recovered." Elrond turned to leave the room. Knowing that, despite their mischievous and over exuberant nature, the twins were really very concerned about their friend and brother, and would not do anything that might harm them, he was not really overly concerned.

The twins reassumed their seats, leaning forward eagerly. "Alright then," Elladan began, "first things first. What on Arda happened to the two of you!"

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**Reviewer Responses: (Note: I'm afraid we won't be able to respond to anyone who reviewed after last Friday. If anyone _did _review, we'll try to catch you next time. Sorry about that… )**

**Slayer3:** -starts making pillow barricade between herself and sharp pointy objects- No need to use those! Heh, no more bad stuff's going to happen to them... THIS time, that is! -attempts to smother evil, maniacal laughter- Ooo, I love that quote! It's so beautiful :-) Thank you so much for your review! Hope you like the chapter.

**Erulasse:** -g- Yup, they're both alive! And as you can see, they're both finally convinced of that fact as well ;-) He! Elessar is a wonderful name for a cat! Aw, and Sam's such a sweet name too. Our dog's name is Strider (hehe, also commonly called little black Spider... but that's another story), and we call him "Aragorn Elessar" when he's bad ;-) Yup, our little brother is Eric, aka Erhoss (which for some reason I can never remember how to spell... wonder if it's got anything to do with the fact that he's got about half a dozen different versions he uses himself...) -g- Unfortunately, our "little" brother is now taller than me, and considerably stronger, sooo... We've got to be nice. Most of the time ;-) Thank you for your review! Hope you enjoy the new chapter.  
**  
jacquelinestel:** Hey, glad to see you again! (hehe, and yes, Nef's 'out there' too -g- she's been reading all the reviews, and giving input on responses, and she's very happy to see you again too ;-) Aw, that wasn't very nice, Estel and Legolas, deflating her ego like that. You'd best be careful, or she might decide to leave you home during her summer trips! Hope you have lots of fun with your summer activities! And hope you enjoy the end chappies, whenever you get a chance to read them :-)

**CKlovesme2040:** Hehe, you are most welcome for returning your favorite guy to Imladris ;-) Couldn't have any permanent maiming, now, could we? Well, they did manage to avoid death by shock, even if Legolas did come rather close -g- LOL, yup, aside from whatever the twins manage to stir up, they're safe from harm for the time being. Oh, I hope you all have a wonderful time at camp! Thank you so much for reviewing! Hope you like the new chapter- in which they actually manage to avoid completely killing themselves, and thus several of our readers, and probably us as well, with the mob we'd have... ;-)

**QueenofFlarmphgal:** Hehe, well, I'm afraid our poor boy are safe for the time being - but ONLY for this story! The only ones doing any torturing for the rest of the story will be the twins ;-) Yep, Nef's hard at work on the sequel, and I know I'm loving it (lucky me, I get to be her editor and read everything before anyone else ;-), so I certainly hope you all will like it too! -sigh- I absolutely adore her new villain... But then, I've always had a soft spot for cool bad guys -g- Thank you so much for reviewing! Hope you like the chapter.

**Daethule:** Yay! I'm so happy you like it so much! Hehe, yup a little bit of confusion over just who's supposed to be alive and who's not... -g- At least they've got everything sorted out now, and they both finally realize that they're BOTH alive :-) Thanks so much for your review! Hope you like the new chapter!

**Deep Sorrow:** Charge hourly? Hmm, there's an idea! Too bad we're not supposed to make money off fanfiction... Except Scarlet Pimpernel fanfiction, at any rate, since the copyright on SP has now expired, and we could actually PUBLISH that stuff if we wanted. Scary thought...and also totally off subject... Hehe, ok I'm moving on. -g- Yup, it is a good sign that Estel's finally arrived home. Now the only people who can torment him for the moment are the twins. LOL, well, I haven't quite finished the epilogue yet. I suppose we could have the orcs invade Rivendell in the epilogue... Eh, maybe not. I think the poor guys deserve a bit of a break. At least until the next story ;-) Thank you so much for your review! Hope you like the new chapter.

**lindahoyland:** As you can see, both Estel and Legolas have finally discovered the truth :-) And now the poor guys finally get a bit of bedrest and happiness... Until the next story, at any rate -g- Glad to hear you're enjoying all the angst! Not much of that in this chappie, but I hope you like it :-)

**crazyAZN kid:** LOL, yep, plenty of confusion all around this time, but at least they've all finally got things sorted out now. -snickers- My, Elladan certainly is a thoughtful, kind older brother, volunteering Elrohir like that... -puts on serious manner- Now Elrohir, we can't just kill some orcs off and call it a day! Just think of all the poor angst-addicted fans around here! We'd all be going into withdrawal so fast... Believe me, as bad as you may THINK it is now, just wait till you see what happens when thousands of fangirls go into simultaneous angst withdrawal. And really, I'm afraid not too many people go in for orc angst these days ;-) Yes, things are pretty much winding down now. Just a bit of recovery, and wrapping things up left :-) Thank you so much for your review! hope you enjoy the chapter.

**Ainu Laire:** Well, well, what a surprise. I don't normally get Rangers reviewing my story! Dragons, lunatics, various degrees of royalty... but not often Rangers. Yeah, sure, Shire-leaf may not have nicotine, that doesn't mean it's safe! Obviously you've never seen anyone choke to death before... Ah, my dear Strider, you may well be the soon-to-be Chieftain of the Dunedain, but I fear you still have very little control over fangirls, or what they may choose to believe. Unfortunately for you, odd ideas about fake silver and gold stars are no exception. A word of advice: never try to disillusion a fangirl once she's convinced of something. Laire certainly seems to be... well, possibly a little more reasonable than most (or possibly her madness just tends toward slightly less dangerous outlets), but still... Generally, it's better safe than sorry. -scowls- I am NOT a child! I've been legally considered an adult for a while now, I'll have you know. And don't you dare give me some line about still being a child compared to you - I know perfectly well you've had the same discussion with your brothers on more than one occasion! Oh, I see Gandalf has finally decided to make an appearance. Still into the whole speaking-in-riddles thing, though... Honestly, between the elves and the Wizards, it's a wonder the younger races ever learned anything! Ah, the SNWCG... that would be the "Society for Nerve-Wracked Computer Ghosts". I other words, those who always have panic attacks when posting stories, and wind up "haunting" the computer, waiting to find out what people think. My friend, polingly, is the president, and a founding member, Nef - another founding member - is vice president, and I happen to have the honor of being the newest member :-) Well, thanks for seeing to the reviewing, even while Laire's sleeping! Hope she wakes up in time to enjoy the new chapter ;-)

**polingly:** Aw, not to worry, gwathel-nin, we do know just how busy you've been lately :-) Hehe, well, they've now finally figured out just who is NOT dead around here ;-) I absolutely love Glorfindel too! He's really a terribly underused character. Really there are hardly ANY good Glorfindel fics out there. Hmm, maybe I should write some myself... -hugs- We're going to miss you while we're on vacation! -sniff- Farewell, my friend... -sniff- Namarie... We will meet again... Well, actually, that'd be kind of hard, seeing as we've never actually met in the first place... Alright then, enough with the melodrama ;-) Thank you so much for reviewing! hope you like the new chappie ;-)

**Tinorial Peredhil:** -growls at stupid Wouldn't let you see the chapter, hmm? Well, I'd threaten to go after it and teach it a good lesson, but it seems more than a few people have tried that already, without much success... Besides, all our computers have a grudge against me already, and I really don't need to be antagonizing and more technology-related things at the moment ;-) LOL, bad twins, lying to your Ada! Hehe, to quote The Princess Bride, "He's not dead, he's just MOSTLY dead. There's a difference." Yup, Glorfy's got a Voice too! Oh dear, got to watch out for those nasty, rogue voices though. They can be positively insidious! Imagine, telling you not to take Guard places with you! -pats Guard- Don't worry, she would NEVER believe such a nasty Voice as that! Oh no, can't knock the nice WK out! He- he might decide he didn't want to be friends any more, and then he might try to get that invitation to Dol Guldor retracted. Well, at least he's got his good friend Guard to take care of him. I'm sure that will cheer him up ;-) Hehe, yup everyone came pretty close to emotional break downs here... But now everyone's safe back in Imladris, so no fears for elf fading this time around :-) Yup, we're going on vacation. -sighs happily- Ten days to just lie around, read, relax, go fishing, boating... -g- Only slight drawback being no internet connection at all. But we'll survive that ;-) Thank you so much for the review! Hope you like the new chapter :-)

**SmilingDragonGirl:** Congratulations on your great victory! -hands the Balrog Slayer award- Believe me, not too many people manage to get these. By the time they've earned one, most people wind up being too... well, dead to care much. Glad to hear we didn't lose you, though ;-) Hehe, nope. As you saw, it was Legolas who got to do the hovering this time -g- I agree, memory-of-friendship stories would NEVER measure up to a good friendship fic :-) Aw, I'm sorry to hear that you had such a bad day! -hugs- I can definitely sympathize with you. I've had a pretty awful week myself, and wound up spending most of Friday afternoon crying/trying to stop, and most of Saturday trying not to start again. I'm so happy that our update was able to help cheer you up, though! -hugs again- I hope you're feeling better now. Well, I hope the part where they finally discovered that each other weren't dead lived up to your expectations :-) Personally, I think this chapter has some of my favorite parts in the whole story. Oh, I'm glad you liked Glorfindel's little "guest appearance" :-) I absolutely love him, too, and I really think he's a very underused character. There are so few good Glorfindel fics! I've contemplated doing a Glorfindel story myself... Only problem being that I have yet to find a story idea with him that really catches my fancy :-) Well, thank you so much for reviewing! And I really hope that you're doing better now! -starts to hug again, then freezes- Um, wait a minute... -looks nervous- Is hugging dragons allowed? -shrugs- Oh well. -hugs anyways-

**HarryEstel:** Yup, everyone's FINALLY all back in one place - and they managed to do it without being permanently maimed too! LOL, as you can see, they did indeed have a bit of a surprise when they woke up. At least this time it was a happy one ;-)Thank you so much for reviewing! Hope you like the new chapter.

**Erasuithiel:** Hehe, we are mean to them, aren't we? And totally unrepentant too... -eg- I'm SO glad to hear that you're enjoying it so much! I hope you liked their reactions to finally finding out that each other are alive :-) Ah well, no need to fear poison - THIS time. Our poor boys are finally getting a bit of a rest (as much of a rest as El and El will allow, at any rate...), so they can be all nice and happy in time for the next story, at which time they'll probably wind up in just as bad shape as they are now... They just can't win, can they? Hmm, so orcs stole your poisons? Well, we'll certainly let you know, should they happen to come our way. Might have to steal the recipe from the for future stories first, though... ;-) Thank you so much for the review! Hope you like the new chapter.

**Well, the next -and last- chapter should be out either Monday (the 20th) or Tuesday. Um, note that that's SHOULD be out then, as we'll be just getting back from vacation, and really can't absolutely promise on the exact date. We can, however, promise to do everything in our power not to leave you guys waiting any longer than necessary ;-)**

**Imbecamiel, proud member of the SNWGC **


	9. Epilogue

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

**He's Gone**

By Nefhiriel & Imbecamiel

**Rating:** T (PG-13)

**Genres: **Action/Adventure/Angst

**A/N:** Well, seeing as this is the last chapter, I thought I should do something kind of... you know, special, for the Author's Note. Unfortunately, I'm not quite brilliant enough for that, so I'd just like to point out that this happens to be the only chapter in this story which we gave a name to other than "Chapter 1" "Chapter 2" etc. Yes, we really pulled out all the stops for this one! Ladies and Gentlemen, I present you with - drum roll please! - The Epilogue! My, aren't we just the brilliant, creative ones?

_**For disclaimer and notes see chapter one. Reviewer responses at bottom of chapter.**_

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

* * *

As the days passed, Aragorn and Legolas' dissatisfaction with being "imprisoned" in the healing ward increased along with their strength. At the moment, their primary complaint was the amount of Elrond's "special" tea that they were required to drink. Between the amount of pain they denied being in and the slight return of Estel's fever, Elrond had seen it necessary to dose them - in their opinion - far too frequently.

Being the ones to most frequently receive the responsibility of bringing aforementioned tea, and seeing to it that they drank all of it, Elladan and Elrohir did not escape their share of resentment.

"I'd like to force it down _their_ throats, and see how _they_ like it!" Aragorn grumbled.

Legolas nodded in agreement. "With all the times they've been through this, it would seem reasonable to expect that they, at least, would be on our side, even if no one else is."

It was hardly the first time they had had this conversation, but they seemed to be running out of fresh topics, and really there are only so many times one can re-count the cracks in the ceiling before losing interest. Besides, complaints about the wrongs being done them could be kept up so much longer than debates about which ceiling cracks should be counted separately, which ones were really connected, and whether the especially long ones should be counted as two or not. This time, however, their conversation was cut short by the entrance of those very offenders who had been their most recent subject. As was hardly unusual for them, the twins came in mouths first.

"I tell you, I didn't do anything!" Elrohir's voice, full of indignant innocence - perhaps _too_ indignant?- could be easily heard as he paused just outside the door to answer some accusation from his brother.

Elladan turned the knob, entering the room as he made his response to Elrohir's assertion. "Is that so? Then why is it that he bolted just when-"

"Are you two still arguing about that riding accident?" Aragorn cut in, "That was nearly a week ago!"

"Accident!" Elladan exclaimed. "That was no accident! I tell you he-"

"Enough!" It was Legolas who interrupted this time, with a laugh. "Are you planning on feeding us, or letting us waste away while you 'discuss' whether or not Elrohir spooked that horse?"

Suddenly recalling their mission, and the trays they held in their hands, the twins headed toward the table between the two beds to set them down. Halfway to the table, Elrohir paused, frowning slightly and glancing between the tray he was carrying, and the one that his brother held.

"Wait a minute, El. Was I carrying their food, or were you?"

Both trays held two plates of food, and two mugs. There was, however, one vital difference: while on one of the trays, the mugs were filled with tea, flavored with honey, on the other tray the mugs contained tea "flavored" with Elrond's special herbs. Since the twins had absolutely no desire to dose themselves with sleeping herbs, it was clearly of the utmost importance to determine which tray was which. After some sniffing, careful tasting, and much memory-wracking, a decision was finally agreed upon.

"Alright, better put theirs at the back, and ours in front. That way we won't get them mixed up again," Elladan instructed his twin as he set his tray down on the table.

This whole operation had been witnessed with a mixture of annoyance and amusement - not to mention some eye-rolling - by Aragorn and Legolas. Now as Aragorn looked at the two trays on the table next to him, a sudden idea came to him. Quickly glancing up at Legolas, he caught the mischievous sparkle in his friend's eyes, and instantly realized that the same plan had occurred to both of them.

Without warning. Aragorn broke into a harsh coughing fit. As he had expected, the twins were both at his side in a moment, helping him sit up, offering him water, asking in alarmed tones whether he was alright... In short, perfectly distracted.

Estel watched out of the corner of his eye as Legolas reached out, quickly switching the mugs around, the slight clinking covered up by the sound of his coughing. He had to struggle not to show his amusement, and the combination of suppressed laughter and feigned coughs soon turned into a real coughing fit. He winced as the still-healing wound in his chest was strained. _This had better work,_ he thought as the coughs finally subsided and he settled back onto his pillow.

When the twins were finally assured that, yes, he really _was_ alright now, they helped Aragorn and Legolas arrange their pillows so they could sit to eat - ignoring with practiced ease all protests that they did not need the help - and after being satisfied that the two were comfortable, finally settled down with their own meals. After a couple minutes of silence, Elladan recalled a piece of news they had intended to share.

"We received word from Glorfindel today. Apparently they're found the orcs that captured you. Or at least, most of them." At the quizzical look Aragorn shot him, he explained further. "Of course, the rain has washed away a good part of the tracks by now, but from what they could tell, it looks like quite a fight broke out after Legolas went over the cliff. Judging from what you've told us of their numbers, nearly all of them managed to kill each other off before they were through. Most of the survivors were either wounded, hopelessly lost, or both, and Glorfindel's party caught up with them shortly after finding the main group. They're doing one last sweep of the area, but he says if there are any more left alive, they're likely far away from here by now."

Aragorn and Legolas simply nodded. What more was there to be said? It was over now, and time to get on with the business of living.

Just then, Elrohir let out a yawn, and Elladan began to blink slowly. Aragorn and Legolas began to grin, as amusingly identical expressions of confusion spread over the twins' faces. Elladan slowly picked up the mug he had been drinking from, sniffed it suspiciously, then glared at the two with increasingly drowsy ire.

"That was a dirty trick," was all Elrohir managed to mumble as he began to drift off to sleep.

As the twins' bodies began to relax, their heads rolling back slightly, and the empty mug slipping from Elladan's hand, Estel and Legolas finally allowed their merriment to escape, laughing until the tears came to their eyes. When it finally subsided, the two lay back, panting slightly, the odd chuckle still escaping now and again as they recalled the expressions on the faces of their two victims.

Suddenly, a sobering thought occurred to Legolas. "You do realize, mellon-nin, that they're going to make us pay for this when they wake up."

"Probably." Aragorn really didn't seem unduly worried by the prospect, a contented smile still lingering on his mouth.

Legolas shrugged. Ah well, there was time enough to worry about that later. He just hoped Elrond wouldn't let them do anything too permanent.

* * *

**-sighs happily- Well, there you have it. Everyone finally safe, happy, andwell on their way to recovery :-)**

**Reviewer Responses:**

**Slayer3:** Whew! Glad to hear I'm safe from the sharp pointy objects... at least for the time being... And even more glad to hear that you liked the chapter! Hmm, unfortunately, the link for your blog didn't show up completely :-( I tried every combination I could think of, but I can't seem to find it. I'd really like to see it, though! Could you send it to us again? Thanks so much for reviewing! Hope you like the last chapter.

**ariadne: **Thank you! I'm so glad to hear that you're liking it!

**Deep Sorrow:** Oh I do love writing the twins! LOL, if you think your friends give you weird looks when you laugh at what you're reading, you should see the looks my Mom gives me when I start laughing at what I'm _writing_. She's constantly asking me what I'm grinning at... ;-) Rather sad, I guess, laughing at my own work... -shrugs- Oh well, at least I'm having fun! Well, I did include the orcs in the epilogue after all... sort of. Just couldn't bear the thought of their wandering off to live unhappily ever after ;-) But I do agree, it can get incredibly frustrating when an author suddenly introduces a new plot, just when the story ought to be winding down. Mind you, I think things like that can be done well on occasion, but when it doesn't really have a purpose, other than to keep the story going longer... :-P Well, thank you so much for reviewing! I hope you like the Epilogue too :-)

**Evergreene:** Yup, no one thinks anyone is dead anymore! Eh, then again, they may both be as good as dead once the twins wake up... Ah well, at least Elrond won't let them damage them too badly until after they're recovered ;-) Thank you for reviewing! Hope you like the final chapter.

**CKlovesme2040:** Well, I'm glad neither you nor Legolas actually died from shock! Hard to say which would be more disastrous, losing a main character, or losing a wonderful reader... Aw, I'm sorry to hear that camp didn't work out for you :-( I hope you still managed to have a relaxing time at home? Yes, we did have a lot of fun on vacation! Lots of reading, swimming, vanquishing my evil writer's block to finish this chapter... -sighs happily- Very relaxing. Well, not the part about vanquishing writer's block, that's pretty strenuous exercise, but the rest of it was ;-) Ah, so he's _your_ elf now, is he? -looks around furtively and whispers- I'd be careful how loudly I said that around here, if I were you. You could have a major battle on your hands! Well at any rate, no need to worry about him... for the rest of this story. However, in the next story, he's likely to get quite his fair share of angst, so you'd better prepare yourself ;-) Thank you so much for reviewing! Hope you like the last chapter.

**lindahoyland: **Yes, it is nice for them to finally realize that no one's dead, isn't it? I'm glad you liked the chapter! Hope you like this one too!

**fan33:** I'm so happy to hear that you like the story! Oh, please do take a look at Nef's other stories! This is my first, but she's done several excellent ones already :-) Thank you so much for reviewing! Hope you like the last chapter.

**Ainu Laire:** -shakes head sadly- From all appearances, I begin to believe that your attempts to reform Aragorn have been about as successful as his attempts to "reform" you... Stubborn Ranger ;-) Ah well, at least if you're not that bad for a fangirl, he's probably not that bad for a ranger either. Being raised by elves, he's probably much better than most! Eh, on the other hand, with El and El for brothers he could be a lot _worse_ than most... Oh dear, it's never a good sign when Aragorn doesn't know how old he is. In an elf, it might be understandable, but even a Númenorian doesn't live that long. Hmm, what do you have to do to join the SNWCG? Well, there's the membership fees, rites of entry, oaths of eternal obedience to the senior members... Hehe, j/k. Actually, I'm not sure. Since at the moment the only members are myself, Nef and our dear president polingly, we haven't really discussed what to do about new members. The society's been going for some time (since shortly before Nef started posting The Wrong One), but you and Smiling Dragon Girl are actually the first ones to ask about membership. So... I'll talk to polingly about it, and we'll let you know by e-mail ASAP :-) Yes we do plan on doing more stories! We've got several planned, and all with lots of A&L. Well, except for one, which may wind up focusing more on the twins and Elrond... We'll see ;-) LOL, at any rate, anything we come up with is sure to have lots of humor, angst, or both. Hmm, so Aragorn's 26, and 11 years older than you? That would mean you're... one year younger than Nef. And it also means he's not too many years older than me! And no, I'm not saying how many -eg- I suppose a mix-up in space-time continuum might cause some... minor difficulties... Still, that wasn't a very nice thing for Gandalf to do! It seems Aragorn and Legolas aren't the only ones who like to pull dirty tricks with sleeping drugs. To mis-quote Treebeard, "A wizard should know better!" ;-) Ah, well, thanks for so much for reviewing! Hope you like the epilogue.

**crazyAZN kid:** We do always try to get things out when we say that we will, or, when RL and the evilness of a certain website-which-shall-remain-nameless interfere, at least at the earliest possible time :-) I've certainly read enough stories from unpredictable authors to know just how frustrating it can be when people don't update when they say they will :-P Hmm, no "deeper meaning" that I'm aware of... Just a bit of fluff left, and some wrapping up of loose ends. Maybe real life doesn't always work out neatly in the end, but I, for one, just couldn't bear the thought of letting those orcs disappear completely unpunished! Well, here's the new post! Hope you like it ;-)

**HarryEstel:** LOL, yep we just had to put the poor elf through one more shock... At least this time we relented enough to make it a nice one ;-) Hehe, the poor twins really can't hope to get away completely undetected with Elrond around. You'd think that after nearly 3000 years, they'd have learned that it was no good trying to sneak behind their Ada's back... Then again, I suppose they've managed to succeed just enough times to keep their hopes up :-) Besides, they wouldn't be nearly as much fun if they didn't keep trying! Well, thanks for the review! Hope you like the last chapter.

**SmilingDragonGirl:** Oh I'm glad to hear that pink dragons like getting hugs, because I like giving them! -hugs- Also rather a relief to hear you're not related to the type who like to eat those who give hugs... ;-) Oh, I can definitely sympathize with your story about the MC, because as a matter of fact, that's exactly what happened to start me off crying too! Of course, the fact that things are pretty chaotic in RL for me at the moment didn't help at all. It's pretty tough moving away from the house I've lived in for13 years, the church I've been going to for 16 years, the only two friends I've got in RL... But yes, I'm feeling a lot better now. A very relaxing vacation, with lots of good books definitely helped ;-) -g- Glad you like the award! If I were you, though, I'd stick it in the closet if any of Sauron's minions happen to come visiting. They can get rather easily offended by things like that sometimes ;-) LOL, yes, I can just picture it. Elrond: "No, Estel, Legolas did not die falling off that cliff. As a matter of fact, he managed to make it all the way back here alive." Estel: "Well then, where is he?" Elrond: "Well, you see... He was worried about you, and wouldn't let me treat his wounds, and he managed to break them open and bleed to death right here in the healing wing. That was a couple of days ago. Sorry you missed him. He did say to tell you 'hi', though." Estel: "...Oh..." Hehe, that would NOT have worked out too well. I'm so happy you  
liked the interaction between Legolas and Elrond, though! I was rather nervous about trying to write Elrond, so I'm really happy to hear that he came off well! Hehe, I do love writing the twins so much! Of course, then I wind up laughing at my own writing (which is rather sad, I suppose), and getting strange looks from my Mom... But it's worth it :-) Ah yes, will they survive El & El is indeed the question... Or perhaps it may rather be, will El & El survive _them_? Or maybe it's more like, will Elrond still be sane by the time they've recovered? No, I don't believe I have read any of Alinah's stories. Thanks for the recommendation, I will definitely be checking them out! Have you read anything by Stories From Angel's Falls? She's done several excellent Glorfindel stories, set during the time when Gil-Galad was king. Rather short stories, but some of the best Glorfindel-centered ones I've seen. Hehe, believe it or not, I actually don't know if it's possible to apply for membership in the SNWGC or not. It's been going for some time (since a while before Nef started posting The Wrong One), but since we haven't "advertised" the group too much, we haven't really had anyone interested (you and Ainu Laire are actually the first people to ask about membership). As a matter of fact, our entire membership at the moment consists of myself, Nef and our president, polingly. Sooo, the long and short of it is, we haven't yet discussed what to do about new members, but I'll be e-mailing polingly about it, and let you know by e-mail ASAP :-) Hmm, now I wish I could speak German, so I could read your stories when you start posting! Sadly enough, being one quarter German does not give one an automatic comprehension of the language... LOL, maybe I'll just have to write a really weird review, and pretend I could actually understand more than the words "Aragorn" and "Legolas" ;-) Thank you so much for reviewing, mellon-nin! Hope you like the last chapter.

**Tinorial Peredhil: **Yes, we managed to get it up! Daring the evil website which was determined to force us to fail in our duties, wrestling dangerous strange computers into submission, capturing the elusive wild internet connection, we actually got it posted! -pauses- What, no applause? -sighs- Truly, the dangers of this job are vastly underappreciated. Well, I suppose I'll just have to move on with life then... ;-) Oh yes, I think the twins aren't going to appreciate Legolas' new piece of blackmail very much at all -g- Enjoy your humiliation? Oh Guard, you're just looking at this all wrong! Think of it as your own unique job as a healer! They do say laughter is the best medicine, after all. What's this? LR still hasn't learned how unhealthy it is to interrupt a fangirl's appreciation of angst! -shakes head- I have a feeling that he may need to be doing "Live" reminders for himself if he's not careful... Glad you're so happy that he found out Estel's alive! Um, just don't go telling anyone I'm responsible for that deafening shout, ok? –looks nervous- I really don't need any lawsuits just now. Ah, so you've got voices in your head? Now me, I've just got an incredibly sarcastic Mind, who enjoys mocking me at every possible opportunity. (Mind: And you do provide a lot of them, too...) See what I mean? Poor Legolas... Here we've drug him through so much, we've reduced Mirkwood's finest warrior to sounding like a sweet, desperate child... And enjoyed doing it too! -eg- Heh, at least we made him happy now -attempts to look sweet and innocent- LOL, nope, no coma. I really don't think the poor Prince would've lived through that. Hehe, glad you liked Elladan's parting "threat" ;-) I'm afraid it's rather to late to avoid getting the computers mad at me. I've only got to look at my Mom's laptop over her shoulder to get it to freeze up! And don't even get me started on my dearly loathed Chrysophylax... -growls at computer- Reminds me of a line I read today: "I love my computer! It makes a wonderful paperweight!" Aw, I'm so glad to hear that your trip to Dol Guldor went so well! Sounds like such a lovely party... Those Nazgul must really like you and Guard, to go to all that trouble! And they even invited you both back! My, my, Guard certainly is the social butterfly, isn't he? Yes, we did have an absolutely wonderful vacation! I even got a bit of a tan! Well, sort of, it was kind of... pink... and painful... -shrugs- Ah well, it was lots of fun anyways :-) Thank you so much for reviewing! Hope you like the last chapter! -sniff- Yes, it is rather sad, isn't it? But now we can get started on another one!

**polingly:** I missed you too! -hugs- Oh, and I hope I didn't wind up forgetting anything too major in the letter I sent last night... Chrysophylax seems to have changed his mind yet again, and is now determined to live for a while longer at least, so disaster has been once again averted! For the moment. -mutters under breath about computers determined to drive her mad- Anyways, the result is, I'll probably be getting back to your other letter within the next couple of days :-) Yay! I'm so happy you liked it! -g- The twins really can't get away with too much around Elrond, can they? I do love writing humor! Of course, then Mom keeps asking me what I'm walking around grinning about... but that's a small price to pay ;-) Thank you so much for reviewing, gwathel-nin! Hope you enjoy the last chapter :-)

**Niroveka:** Thank you so much for the lovely e-mail review! I believe Nef's already sent out a response to it... But I just though I'd thank you here too ;-)

**A/N from Nef:** Well, there you have it, the epilogue… Unfortunately, I won't be able to post anything for at least the next month, due to the fact that we're moving, but I have LOTS of plans -eg- First of all, I have several vignettes almost ready for posting, and I'm also hard at work on the sequel to _The Wrong One_. Sorry it's taking so long. I'm already to chapter thirteen, and although I've run into a bit of writer's block, hopefully I'll be able to get rid of it, and finish up. -huggles- Thank you, all, for the wonderful reviews: I cherish, save, and reread all of them : )

**Imbecamiel and Nefhiriel, proud members of the SNWCG**


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